The Changes in Jaune
by Jakespeed207
Summary: Favorite character: Jaune Arc. Inspiration strikes. Herein are several short stories or drabbles of Jaune becoming serious, powerful, or changing in one way or another. There will be crossovers, which I will note before the beginning of each chapter. Rated M for near death situations and some gory descriptions.
1. Break From The Past 1

**Beacon Academy's Infirmary Wing, room 217…**

The room was quiet, the only sounds permeating the air being the beeping of life-monitoring machinery and the breathing of the individuals inside, seven of them focused purely on the eighth one, the one in need of the aforementioned life-monitoring machinery.

The seven, bodily unharmed occupants, still wearing the formal dressing of the dance they had attended the previous night, could only focus on the chest of the blonde young man lying on the infirmary bed. His usually bright hair was limp and lacklustre, and his face was sallow. He was shirtless, which only accentuated the wrappings around the centre of his torso that covered what they knew was the scarring left behind from the deep piercing wound and subsequent burning that had landed him here.

Sitting in the chair closest to the window, a red-wearing young woman had dried tear tracks on her cheeks as her silver eyes stared at the lifeless body of the young man, the only sign that he was still alive being the raspy breathing that made his chest rise and fall, though not without trembles. She could only remember what had caused such a wound, having had front row seats to the scarring event.

* * *

 _"_ _Ruby, look out!" she heard his voice, and it surprised her. Why would_ he _be here? Could he have seen the same thing she had on top of the CCT tower? That couldn't be, he hadn't been anywhere near the building where the dance was being held as far as she knew._

 _The questions in her mind were left unanswered as she turned to find out what he was warning her about, only to come to a stop in a shocking realisation._

 _There he was, in front of her, arms splayed out and blocking her view of the woman she had just been fighting. His hoodie was wet and sticking to his body, which only accentuated the sight of the black and orange arrow that had pierced his sternum and his chest plate, stopping just a few centimetres from her own body. She could just barely see his body taking in ragged breaths and his eyes closing and clenching in pain, but her mind refused to process it, not wanting to think that this had really happened._

 _Then, he collapsed, valiantly holding in a scream of pain as the arrow suddenly glowed with what she barely recognised as Fire Dust, which began to burn through his torso from the point the arrow had pierced…_

* * *

She shook her head roughly, willing away the thoughts of the previous night. It would do no good to start to cry again over what had already happened.

Across from the youngest of the group, a pair of young women also stared at the near-lifeless body of the young man. These two, the most well-off of the entire group, had very different thoughts about him, but their minds couldn't help but wander back to the last times they had both seen him.

 _"_ _Weiss Schnee~" he sang, strumming the acoustic guitar in his hands actually well. "Will you accompany meee~… to the dance on~… Sunday? Sunday~!"_

 _"_ _Are you done?"_

 _A pause._

 _"_ _Yes?"_

 _"_ _Then no."_

 _And with that, the door was closed._

* * *

 _"_ _Jaune… are you alright?" the redhead asked, returning from the bathroom just as the blonde team leader returned to the room, his shoulders squared and his face set in what she recognised as a determined scowl. The very same kind she had seen on herself every time she messed up in her training._

 _Her mind vaguely reminded her it was past midnight already._

 _"_ _I'm, fine, Pyr," he responded in a tone devoid of the usual emotion that usually filled his voice. "Just tired."_

 _"_ _Will you be alright for the dance tomorrow?" she asked, thoughts of the dance making her heart clench._

 _She watched as he removed the armour around his arms and chest, then his hoodie. As he threw himself down on his bed, he answered with one word._

 _"_ _Probably."_

* * *

The Mistralian Goddess of Victory and Atlasian Heiress of the SDC could only wonder what had caused the young man to end up how he did in the timespan of less than a day.

And sitting just next to them, similarly staring at his team leader with troubled eyes while he rubbed the head of his best friend, one quiet Lie Ren thought back to the last time he himself had seen Jaune, the last time _anyone_ had seen him before this incident.

* * *

 _He awoke without any fanfare, as he would usually have it. Having made waking up early a routine while traveling the Wilds with Nora, he was usually the first one up in the dorm room._

 _Today, however, that wouldn't be the case._

 _He sat up, stretching his arms into the air to rid them of any stiffness, when the sound of metal meeting metal came to his ears. He opened his eyes and looked to the source, which turned out to be his team leader, already decked out in his armour and placing his sword in its sheath-shield._

 _"_ _Jaune?" he asked, curious but minding his voice so as to not wake anyone else._

 _The blonde looked towards him, and for just a moment, Ren could have sworn he saw anger in Jaune's eyes._

 _"_ _Hey, Ren," Jaune responded, his eyes no longer conveying the anger he thought he had seen, but not giving off any other emotion. This set Ren on edge. In the entire time he had known the blonde, Jaune had been an open book. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and would happily give it to anyone that he saw needed it. This… emotionless look was completely new._

 _"_ _Are you heading out?" Ren asked._

 _"_ _Yeah, sorry if I woke you. I'm just going to go train a little," Jaune said, making sure his sword was strapped on right._

 _"_ _Oh. Very well, just make sure you're back on time for the dance." Ren was sure that he would be, though. It was about seven in the morning, and the dance would be that night, giving Jaune plenty of time to train, come back, and get himself ready._

 _"_ _Sure, I will be," Jaune responded, walking towards the door._

 _Something about the way he said those words, though, made Ren doubt he meant them, and that premonition would prove to be right hours later._

* * *

Ren couldn't help but sigh as he stroked the head of one Nora Valkyrie, the only one of them that was able to fall asleep during the night, helped in no small part by Ren's ministrations.

Finally, as the clock on the wall hit 8:13 am, the sound of an opening door shattered the quiet air. The only two members in the room not deep in thought or asleep turned to the source.

"Hey Sun, Neptune," Blake greeted quietly as the blonde and bluenette entered.

"Hey," Sun responded, back in his usual, near-shirtless getup. "We heard from Port that you guys were here." Looking at her, he raised an eyebrow. "You're still in wearing your dress…"

Blake shook her head and motioned to the patient bed in the room. Looking in that direction, both guys' eyes widened upon noticing the limp form of Jaune Arc.

"Jaune? What happened to him?" Neptune asked as he and Sun approached the female blonde and ravenette. "Now that I think about it, I don't remember seeing him at the dance…"

Yang shook her head, smoothing out her white dress for what felt like the fifteenth time. "He didn't go. I was at the podium greeting everyone, and he never showed up. As for why he's here… We're not too sure either, actually. The only one who knows how it happened is Ruby, and, well…" She motioned towards her sister, and both guys could see she looked near catatonic, just staring at Jaune without any other movement. "She's not in any condition to talk."

"Then perhaps we can shed some light on the subject," a new voice came, and everyone turned to the door, where the headmaster and his deputy were standing, both staring at Jaune as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

"Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch," Yang said, none of her usual cheer in her voice. "What do you mean?"

The rest of the students asked the same with her eyes. Even those that had been deep in thought were staring at him with questioning eyes.

As Ozpin approached the group, he sighed and pulled out his scroll while Glynda did the same. "You see, Glynda and I have been reviewing the security footage around the school after looking at the footage of the CCT tower due to the incident. We traced back where Mister Arc would have come from to have arrived at the battle between the intruder and Miss Rose."

He turned his scroll around and showed the room the screen, where the feed of a security camera could be seen. In it, Jaune's familiar mop of blonde hair could be recognised walking past the CCT, whereupon he stopped and looked up at it. Without any other warning, he unsheathed his sword and ran towards it, stopping once to look at something to his left, and then continuing on into the building. Ozpin switched the feed to a camera inside the CCT's base, were the group could see a few limp guards on the ground. Jaune, after looking around the room, stopped by one and knelt at his side for a moment, then stood and moved to another, then another, then another, until finally, he had checked them all. He then moved towards the elevator and called it, entering it a few moments later. Ozpin once again switched the feed to a camera inside the elevator, where they could see Jaune kneeling by two soldiers that had been inside the elevator, as limp as the rest had been outside.

And then he spoke, in a tone of voice so dead that it made most of them shiver.

 _"_ _Dead… just like the others…"_

He stood up, and now everyone could see his eyes. They were blank, no emotions passing through them until the doors opened, whereupon they widened in shock. He dashed out of the elevator rapidly, and when Ozpin switched the feed again, they could see why.

The feed on the scroll showed them the inside of the top of the CCT tower, where one Ruby Rose and an older, curvaceous woman were fighting, dashing back and forth around the room. Ruby stopped as she had to balance herself in the heels she was still wearing, and her opponent took that moment to jump back and load up an arrow, which glowed an ominous orange colour.

The enemy fired, and it seemed as though Ruby would have been hit by the arrow if not for the appearance of Jaune.

In a move that made them all gasp, the young man threw himself in front of his friend, splaying his arms out and receiving the entire blow. Despite the fact that they knew how this would end, they still expected the arrow to merely stagger the young man, who they all knew had massive aura levels, enough to help him tank such a blow.

Instead, the arrow pierced his back almost cleanly, sticking out of his hoodie and creating a small spurt of blood. Jaune froze for a moment, then his arms clenched around his torso as the arrow began to glow. When the audience saw his hoodie smoulder, they understood what was happening.

The arrow was burning, immolating Jaune from the inside.

They all stared at the image in pure, unbridled shock, the sight of their friend suffering in such a way appalling them.

"But…" Blake, being the first to recover, turned to the grim-looking professors. "How…? Jaune should have had more than enough aura to prevent this from happening to him."

Ozpin motioned towards his deputy, who held up her scroll, showing them a different camera feed. The tag on the lower left corner told them this was Training Room 2, and the time was eight in the morning.

In it, the door opened, and the very same young man entered the room. They could see his face was set in a determined scowl, and as soon as he closed the door, he applied the two locks on it. He walked to the centre of the room and activated the training module, which released a robot that took the form of an Alpha Beowulf. As Jaune stepped out to face it, however, he shocked them all when he took his sword and shield and tossed them to a corner of the room, then doing the same to the armour he was wearing and, further, to his hoodie as well, leaving him topless.

The Beowulf stepped forward cautiously, growling at the young man. They circled each other, and when they could see his face, they saw not fear or apprehension as they expected from him, but sheer determination and anger.

Then, the Beowulf charged.

The feed suddenly changed to another camera, which had skipped some time and showed instead Jaune being slashed across the torso by the same Beowulf, only it seemed to have suffered several blows to its body and one of its eyes was closed. Jaune, however, was equally as hurt. He could be seen panting heavily, and the slash he had just received had sent him to the ground on his back.

The clock on the camera had passed ten o'clock.

Then, they heard Jaune speak as he struggled to get up.

 _"_ _Not… yet… I'm still… too weak…"_

With those words, the weary and worn Jaune jumped back into the fray.

The feed skipped several more times during the day, each skip making the eyes of those watching widen further and further as they saw Jaune constantly get knocked down and struggle to stand back up. It came to the point where Ruby and Pyrrha were silently _begging_ him to just stay down and rest, but of course, since this was a recording, their wishes went unfulfilled.

It wasn't until the last recording, where the clock on the camera showed 5:33pm, that Jaune finally stopped the training module. In that time, his torso had taken quite a beating from the few times that his aura had disappeared and he had taken an attack, but thankfully, it seemed they didn't scar over.

"So… Jaune trained for _nine straight hours_?" Sun asked in disbelief.

The professors nodded.

"And that isn't all," Glynda spoke up, pulling up the readings of Jaune's aura levels during that time. "Take a look at his aura."

A picture of Jaune appeared on the screen, and below it, an aura bar filled to one hundred percent. A clock appeared under it, showing the time Jaune had begun the training module. The clock began to advance rapidly and during that time, Jaune's aura slowly dipped, sometimes slowly, sometimes jumping. When the clock hit 5:33pm, they were appalled to see that he had no more than five percent of his aura left, and that it was recovering very slowly. To further their dismay, Jaune's aura had hit zero percent exactly three times during those nine hours, and had hardly recovered to fifteen percent when it began to fall again, meaning it was unable to recover at a good pace.

They were able to connect the rest of the dots themselves.

"Now, only one question remains…" Ozpin murmured, looking at Jaune.

"Why, right?" Neptune asked as the rest of them also looked at the unconscious Jaune. "Haven't known him for long, but Jaune doesn't strike me as a guy who would train for nine hours. And his face…"

"He wouldn't," Pyrrha spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm sure most of you know that I've been training Jaune most weeknights. He's never gone farther than three or four hours when we trained, and even those times were rare."

"Yes, but how did he look to you whenever you sparred, Miss Nikos?" Glynda asked.

"Pardon?"

"Did Mister Arc ever seem angry, frustrated, or emotionless whenever you two trained?" Glynda specified.

The others watched as Pyrrha thought back to their training sessions, then shook her head. "No. In all the times we trained, he was either eager or apprehensive, but never angry."

"And when was the last time you two trained?" Blake asked.

"Just two nights before the dance."

Everyone was silent at that.

"We can only assume that something happened to Mister Arc that caused his mind-set to change," Ozpin said to the room at large. "We checked the logs of the training rooms from the beginning of the year until now, and Mister Arc had not used any until yesterday."

The group once again stared at the unconscious young man. What could have caused him to throw himself into training so heavily, and so angrily?

"Do any of you know anything about this?" Glynda asked the room at large.

Two hands were raised, belonging to Pyrrha and Ren. Glynda motioned towards Pyrrha.

"Two nights ago, Jaune came back to our dorm past midnight," the redhead spoke. "I didn't think much on it then, but he already seemed to be rather… listless, I suppose."

"I had a similar encounter yesterday morning," Ren spoke up after Pyrrha. "I am usually the first one awake in the dorm, but Jaune got up before me and was already in his combat gear by the time I awoke. When I asked where he was going, he said he was going to train, but I never expected him to train for so long. I even reminded him to come back in time for the dance."

"Did he seem different to you as well?" Glynda asked.

"Yes. I could have sworn I saw him angry, but for no more than a moment. Other than that, he was very emotionless. And… well, this is Jaune we're talking about." No more needed to be said.

"So, in short, something happened to Jaune between Saturday night and Sunday morning, which either made him very angry or something close, which then made him train himself to the ground. Due to that, his aura was too low for him to withstand the arrow that he intercepted when he intervened in the fight between Ruby and the intruder," Yang summed up.

The professors nodded.

"But… what was it?" Ruby, surprisingly, asked, her voice scratchy and distraught.

"Unfortunately, I believe only Mister Arc can tell us," Ozpin said. "I suggest you all go and freshen yourselves up, perhaps sleep if you need it. He won't awaken for some time, I believe, and I have placed your teams on temporary leave so that you may be here when he awakens."

Most of them stood up to follow the advice, but both Ruby and Pyrrha stayed where they were.

"Ruby?/Pyrrha?" Yang and Ren, respectively, asked.

The pair shook their heads.

"I can't leave him…" Pyrrha murmured.

"He's… it's my fault…" Ruby said just as quietly.

Yang walked over and placed an arm around her younger sister's shoulder. "Come on, Ruby. You know how Jaune is. He's a really nice guy. Hell, he'd probably do it again if it came to it. It's nobody's fault but that woman's."

As Yang expertly calmed her sister down, Ren approached Pyrrha and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Pyrrha, come on. You need to rest, and you heard the professors. We could all use a little rest."

"I… I can't, Ren," Pyrrha responded weakly.

"Yes, yes you can," Nora suddenly spoke, Ren having been unaware that she had woken up. "Do you think Jaune will be happy with you if he wakes up and sees that you're so worn out?"

Pyrrha sighed, but she couldn't refute her. With a nod, she shakily stood and followed after Team RWBY and her teammates.

* * *

It was several hours later, when the sun was beginning to set, that Team RWBY and the rest of JNPR returned to the infirmary to check on Jaune Arc. However, when they arrived, certainly more refreshed and calm, the bed where he had been was empty.

Pyrrha and Ruby promptly freaked out, which drew the attention of the nurse on station.

"Oh, Mister Arc?" the deer Faunus nurse said, tapping the pen in her hands to her chin. "He already left."

This shocked everyone.

"W-what do you mean?" Ren quietly asked, unable to believe what they were all thinking.

"He was all recovered when I entered my shift an hour ago," she explained succinctly. "I checked his vitals, his muscles, and just about everything else, and trust me, I was very shocked too. But since he was alright, I have him the option to leave at his leisure, and he took it immediately."

"Do you know where he may have gone?" Blake asked, being one of the two still coherent ones, the other being Ren.

"He mentioned something about Training Room 3…"

* * *

In said training room, all was quiet for a moment until the sound of a _thunk_ broke the stillness of the air.

Near the wall opposite the door to the room, a bullseye target was set up on the wall, currently untouched. Instead, all around it were nicks and marks of impacts, and there were even a few arrows stuck to the very wall.

Just a few metres away, Jaune Arc stared at the target, visualising the paths the previous six arrows he had shot had taken. He glanced over at his Beacon-issued scroll, where he had searched up a short introductory course to archery. He had been able to request a practice archery set from Glynda, though only after promising he was entirely recovered and that he would not do any heavy training. He didn't feel like doing so anyways.

Not just yet.

He narrowed his eyes and once again stared at the target. He was close. He could feel it.

He raised the hand that was holding the bow, placing his hand just as the site he had visited had instructed. He could feel the somewhat unfamiliar weight of the bow in his hand, but after wielding his heavy shield on the same arm, he could withstand it.

He grabbed an arrow from the quiver on his back, the leather wrap of the quiver rubbing against the plain white shirt he had chosen to wear. He held the arrow between two fingers, not even looking at the bow anymore as he notched the arrow.

He raised the bow and pulled back the string, holding the arrow near his ear. He looked down the sight and his hand loosened slightly-.

"JAUNE MILES ARC!"

Reflexes that had been developed in his time in the school suddenly activated inside him, and without even thinking, he turned and released the arrow he had drawn back, the projectile flying off rapidly…

And striking the wall next to Pyrrha Nikos' head.

The redhead jumped as the arrow smacked into the wall, having to force herself to not react on instinct and pull out the weapons she didn't have on her. She shakily looked over to the wall the arrow had impacted against, then back at her blonde partner, who finally registered who had yelled out his name and sighed.

"Oh, for the love of… Pyrrha, don't do that. You're lucky that I still suck at aiming with this thing," Jaune sighed, holding up the bow in his hand.

She couldn't do anything but nod at that, giving the other six Huntsmen-in-training the chance to enter.

"Jaune!" Nora and Ruby yelled out simultaneously, dashing towards the blonde young man and tackling him to the ground.

"Whoa! Easy, girls, easy," Jaune said, coughing as his back impacted the ground and the quiver pressed against his back roughly.

"Nora! Please, don't send our leader back to the infirmary," Ren called out with a sigh.

"Whoops! Sorry, Ren!" Nora called out, releasing Jaune and zipping back to her partner's side.

Ruby, however, didn't let go.

"Um… Ruby, mind letting me up?" Jaune asked, looking down at the red bundle on his body. Ruby didn't answer, so he sighed and forced himself up, bringing the girl with him.

That's when he felt it. Not just the shudders that he could feel Ruby letting out, but the wetness on his skin.

"Ruby?" Jaune asked, this time actually moving her away from him, whereupon his suspicions were confirmed.

Ruby's eyes were full of tears, and she was letting out little hiccups as she cried.

"Ruby, what-?"

"Please… tell me you're okay," she cried, looking him right in the eyes.

His eyes widened a little, but he eventually sighed and nodded. "Yes, Ruby, I'm okay."

Ruby rubbed her eyes, continuing to speak low as the others approached. "Are… are you sure?"

Jaune looked at his fellow leader and could see a hint of doubt in her eyes. He shook his head sardonically. This girl knew him very well. "Maybe not completely mentally okay, but in body, yes. And besides, I should be asking _you_ that. I hope you weren't hurt by that woman."

Instead of answering, Ruby just hugged him again, so Yang picked up the ball. "She's fine, physically at least. Gotta say, Vomit Boy, you gave Rubes a hell of a scare. Heck, you gave _all of us_ a scare."

Jaune sighed, rubbing Ruby's head. "Well, I'm sorry about that. I'd still do it again, though."

"We know you would," Blake spoke up with a little smirk. "It's just how you are, Jaune. Next time, though, do remember you have a shield."

"Yes, Jaune," Pyrrha said with a little edge to her voice. "Please, next time remember that and do not scare me- us, like that again."

Jaune disentangled himself from Ruby, who cleaned up her tears, and turned back to the shooting range. "Sorry, but the shield wouldn't have deployed in time for me to block the arrow, and I didn't want to take my chances with deflecting the arrow with my sword. So I just did the next best thing."

"Taking the shot yourself with barely any aura left in you?!" Ruby exclaimed. "How is that 'the next best thing'?!"

Jaune shrugged, grabbing another arrow. "Hey, you weren't hurt, right?"

Everyone stared at Jaune, gobsmacked, as he loaded the arrow and took aim.

"Jaune… do you truly care about your life so little?" Ren asked, his quiet voice filled with concern.

Jaune didn't immediately answer, instead letting the arrow fly. It struck the outer circle of the target shortly after.

"Let's just say…" Jaune began, and everyone could see that he now looked weary, though they could tell it wasn't from exhaustion. "I… don't have the best opinion of myself."

"What are you talking about? You're a great guy, Jaune," Ruby and Pyrrha exclaimed in tandem.

Jaune, to their surprise, snorted derisively. "Yeah, if you knew my history, I doubt you'd be saying that." He shook his head and loaded another arrow. "But I don't really want to talk about that."

The group looked at each other, confusion and concern in their expressions. The _thunk_ of another arrow striking the outer circle of the target across the room brought something else to Pyrrha's mind.

"Wait, Jaune, why are you training?! Shouldn't you be resting after what you went through?" she questioned.

Jaune looked at his partner questioningly. "After what I went through? Pyrrha, I'm fine. The nurse told you, right?"

"No, not that," Pyrrha shook her head. "I'm happy to see you've recovered from that. I'm speaking about the… training you did yesterday."

"All nine hours of it," Yang added.

Jaune drew back. "How do you know about that?"

"Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch showed us the video feed of the training room you had been in," Weiss explained. "They also theorized that was why your aura hadn't stopped the arrow that you took for Ruby."

Jaune, to her surprise, didn't respond to her. In fact, he didn't even look her way. She wasn't sure, but he seemed to be actively ignoring her, actually.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha began. "Is… everything alright? Is there anything you would like to talk about?"

Jaune shook his head, turning back to the target and notching another arrow. "No, Pyrrha, there isn't. I'm fine."

"No, you aren't," Pyrrha retorted. "Don't lie to me, Jaune. You aren't okay."

"And what exactly makes you an expert in that, huh?" Jaune said back in a deathly tone, releasing the arrow and watching it attach itself to the outer circle of the target alongside the last two. He was improving slowly.

"Wha-? Nothing! I just see it in you, Jaune!" Pyrrha approached her secret crush, her eyes moistening up. "I want to help you, Jaune. That's all. Please, can you tell me what happened to make you like this?"

Team RWBY, Ren, and Nora could only watch this partner by-play and wonder to themselves how it would end. There was definitely something up with Jaune. He was acting completely different, and they knew that no person alive changed so drastically without a good reason.

Jaune sighed, looking at the ground, then back at his partner. "You can't help me, Pyrrha. Not with this."

"What?" the redhead asked, taking a step back.

"I know what you're all thinking," Jaune addressed the group at large. "Why I'm acting so differently, right? Well, I'm going to tell you right now that I don't plan to talk about the reason. What I _will_ tell you is that something happened that caused me to reconsider my priorities." Jaune looked at the range again. "I'm too weak. I'm a liability to everyone here. And ever since this school year began, I've done next to nothing to correct that. I haven't trained enough." Jaune looked back at his friends. "And I plan to fix that."

"But why?" Weiss, surprisingly, spoke up. "Why won't you tell us what happened to you? Is it embarrassing? Or perhaps demeaning to someone?"

Jaune looked at the albino girl, and for a moment, Weiss was sure she could see his eyes narrow before he sighed.

"It's a lot simpler than you think. I'm not going to tell you… because I just don't want to. It's something I'm not proud of, I'll admit, but it happened to me because of my stupidity. And I won't let it happen again."

The blonde looked back at his partner. "That doesn't mean we won't still train together, if you still want to, Pyrrha."

The Spartan took a little time to respond. "Uh… yes, I would- I would love to continue our training sessions."

"Good. Now, is there anything else you guys need from me?"

The group looked at each other, wondering if they wanted to pursue this train of thought. In the end, though, Nora was the first to speak up.

"Actually, yeah! How come you're practicing archery, fearless leader?" she asked, zipping up close to him and looking over the simple practice bow.

"She's right," Ren added. "You've never really shown an inclination towards long-range weaponry."

Jaune looked at the only other male there with a sardonic smirk. "Would you believe me if I told you that being hit by an arrow made me curious?"

Everyone jerked back at the somewhat dark reasoning.

"Yeah," Jaune confirmed, notching the last arrow in his quiver. "When I woke up this morning, I got really curious about the very weapon that landed me in the infirmary in the first place. So I figured I'd check and see if the school had any archery sets."

Yang looked at the target her fellow blonde had set up and chuckled. "Seems you're not that good at it."

Jaune smirked without looking at her, aimed the arrow, and released it.

The point of the arrow promptly buried itself in the very centre of the target.

"Wha-! How did you-?!" Yang spluttered.

Jaune looked at her. "Well, you mocked me. I figured I may as well make you eat your words."

The rest of the students stared at Jaune.

"Jaune… how long have you been training?" Blake asked.

The blonde leader glanced at his scroll and checked the time. "Uh… about three hours?"

Pyrrha, unsurprisingly, freaked out at that. "Jaune!"

"What? This doesn't make any condition I might have worse!" Jaune insisted as his partner approached him in worried anger. "Honestly! It mostly stresses my arms, but those were fine!"

The young man raised his hands in a placating gesture as his partner got up close to him. This action, however, allowed the redhead to reach out and wrap her arms around his stomach, placing her head against his chest.

"P-Pyrrha?" Jaune asked worriedly, hanging the bow on the quiver on his back and placing his hands on her shoulders. Feeling the small jumps of her shoulders, he could guess what she was doing. "Oh, not you too…" he muttered.

"Please…" Pyrrha sobbed. "Please don't scare me like that again."

Jaune sighed, stroking her hair. "I can't promise you that." Pyrrha looked up, her face filled with anguish. "Pyrrha, we're training to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. The fact of the matter is that this is a dangerous profession." Jaune's expression hardened. "The only way I can even come close to not doing that is by attempting to salvage the time I still have left."

Pyrrha's buried her face in his chest again, wanting to refute him but being unable to do so. In the end, though, she understood his points and released him, stepping back with her head hung low. "Alright…"

"Hey now," Jaune smiled softly, placing a hand on her chin and raising her face so that her eyes met his. "Don't get so down in the dumps. You and I both know why I'm like this, so instead of moping, let's just work hard to make sure nothing can threaten us like this again, alright? Besides…" Jaune chuckled and moved closer to her, the hand that was on her chin lowering to her shoulder. "I'm going to need all the help I can get, and who best to help me with that but my beautiful and trusty partner?"

Pyrrha blushed brightly at his compliment, but a million-watt smile broke on her face and she nodded enthusiastically.

A whistle from the side brought the pair back down to Remnant, alongside a familiar, teasing voice. "Whoa, Vomit Boy, nice mooooves! Should we give the two of you some privacy?"

The blonde and redhead blushed at the teasing voice. Jaune, however, sighed a moment later. "Yang, are you _ever_ going to let go of that nickname?"

"You'll have to give me a reason to do so," Yang grinned. "Or maybe another nickname."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Why not Lantern?"

This confused everyone except for Ren, who had to hold back a groan as he understood what his leader meant.

"Lantern?" Yang asked, as confused as the rest of them. "Why that?"

Jaune shrugged with a little smirk. "Well, I _was_ lit up from the inside two nights ago, right?"

The shocked faces of his friends made him chuckle, though the horrified looks Ruby and Pyrrha gave him did make him hold it back a little.

"Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That's not funny!" Pyrrha followed up, smacking his arm.

"Alright, alright," Jaune chuckled, rubbing his arm. "It was funny to me."

"I have to agree somewhat," Ren added, making the girls stare at him.

"Oh, right!" Nora palmed her fist. Looking at the rest of the girls, she explained, "Ren likes dry and dark humour. It's pretty much all he's good at in that area."

"I take offense to that," the young man in question responded stoically.

"Great. The only two guys in our group are savants in dark humour," Yang shook her head. "And here I thought it couldn't get any worse."

"It could," Ren spoke up, drawing the girls' attention to him as he walked up to Jaune.

"Yeah. That arrow could have hit my neck instead of my torso," Jaune added with a smile. "Then you'd only have _one_ guy!"

"JAUNE!"

* * *

 **You know, I made a reference to Jaune's source material without even realizing it.**


	2. Break From The Past 2

Several weeks had passed since that incident, during that time, the heiress of the SDC didn't know what to think anymore.

Jaune had made strides with his training so quickly that the rest of the school, teachers included, were completely surprised. The very next day after he had trained with the bow and arrow, he had asked Yang for some help in training after classes. The help being to essentially pummel him. His goal was to learn how to defend himself in hand to hand should he ever lose the use his sword and shield, and admittedly, it was working well. He had also asked his teammate Ren for similar training in his fighting style, which attacked with palm strikes and jabs to the body using aura. The young man had become passable in hand to hand combat, definitely not at the level of people who were focused on that style, such as Yang or Mercury Black (the transfer student from Haven), but enough to hold his own until he could once again use his sword and shield.

The week afterwards, he asked Ruby for help in training his reflexes and attention span. He would have the red reaper use her semblance to dash around and attempt to attack him, though she never actually landed the blows until he asked. She would simply throw out a punch and see if he would respond, and if not, she would remain there and allow him to catch up, then repeat. It didn't take long until the young man was able to keep up with the girl with his eyes and successfully predict where she would strike and retaliate accordingly.

He had also gone and even asked Blake for training in stealth and concealment, figuring that he couldn't go into every battle with his sword and shield akimbo. The girl had cordially helped him with this, having her work cut out for her due to his naturally bright colour scheme. However, like the others, she had been surprised when he seemed to pick up on the techniques oddly quickly, and even giving her a run for her money at times, which turned out to be some good exercise for her as well.

His training with Pyrrha was still going strong, even stronger as a matter of fact. Pyrrha, at Jaune's insistence that she up his training regimen, decided to bring in Nora to emulate Yang's training and essentially pummel him into the ground.

And with the help of everyone, the young man grew stronger, faster, and _deadlier_.

To the point where, when he came clean about his faked transcripts, the others had to have time to digest it, but did not hold it against him, as his success in his training with them showed that he most definitely had the drive to become a Huntsman. By how he explained his history with his family, it boiled down to him fundamentally never getting the option to train for being a Huntsman. His family was extremely protective of him, what with him being the youngest of eight siblings, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to make a difference, now more than ever. However, he still refused to say to anyone just _what_ had caused this shift in him.

Running this through her mind, Weiss Schnee was only more confused.

Jaune hadn't, in those few weeks, even come close to asking the same of her. He had asked her teammates for help in his training, but according them, he hadn't even brought her up at all. And every time she was brought up during his training, he would either ignore what was being said; respond with clipped, one-to-two-word answers; or attempt to change the subject. And it didn't extend to just training, but life in general. With Ruby, Yang, and even Blake, the young man was his usual, happy self, if slightly more reserved; but he hardly interacted with her. In fact, he seemed to be actively avoiding her.

And every time they strictly had to interact, the expression on his face was one she wasn't used to seeing on him. Contempt and annoyance were expressions that she could at least say didn't suit Jaune Arc's face.

Now, she couldn't say that it was all bad. He had been quite annoying ever since initiation, and his attempts to 'woo her' were just as annoying and only added to the aversion she had towards him. But ever since the dance, the words from Neptune about why the Havenite had actually gone to talk to her were reverberating through her mind, throwing a wrench in everything she thought about the blonde JNPR leader.

* * *

 _"_ _So… what made you come talk to me?"_

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _You said you weren't all that embarrassed anymore. What made you change your mind?"_

 _Neptune straightened and looked around the auditorium, but she supposed whatever he was looking for wasn't here._

 _"_ _Well, he's not here, but I think I can call him a friend."_

 _"_ _A friend?"_

 _"_ _Yep. A blonde haired, actually pretty cool guy."_

 _Blonde haired guy…_

 _"_ _Sun?"_

 _"_ _What? No, not Sun. Heck,_ I _had to convince him to not give up on Blake when she shot him down. No, I'm talking about Jaune."_

 _The world around her froze._

 _"_ _Jaune? Jaune Arc?"_

 _"_ _I think he's the only Jaune in Beacon," Neptune chuckled. "But yeah, him."_

 _But… But why would he?_

 _"_ _I don't know, really," Neptune shrugged when she asked him. "I saw him on my way here, just coming out of the Training Building, and he told me to have fun here with you. When I told him I'd turned you down, he… set me straight. Told me to leave out the tricks, suave moves, and cool attitude and just be myself."_

 _The slight shudder that went through his body was hardly acknowledged by her. She had bigger things on her mind._

 _Jaune Arc, the dunce of a leader of Team JNPR, the young man that had constantly hit on her since initiation, and the very same young man that she had shot down time and again, each time increasingly more scathingly… had convinced the guy she fancied to get over his insecurities and talk to her?_

 _Before she could take the thought any further, she heard a worried yelp from a familiar voice, and looking up, she could see Pyrrha looking at her scroll for a moment before dashing out of the auditorium, with Ren and Nora hot on her heels. Standing, she looked around and locked eyes with Yang and Blake, who nodded and followed along._

* * *

Her moment of reminiscing was cut short when the door to Team RWBY's dormitory opened and the rest of her teammates walked inside. Yang and Blake were talking about something she didn't bother to decipher, but her red partner looked to be deep in thought.

"Ruby?" she asked, drawing the girl's attention. "Are you alright?"

Yang and Blake turned, looking between the heiress and red reaper.

"Yeah, yeah!" Ruby hurried to say. "I'm just fine."

"Don't give me that, little sis," Yang suddenly said. "You've been real quiet since we left class."

"I have to agree. I was about to ask myself," Blake continued.

Ruby sighed. Walking over to the bunk she shared with Weiss, she jumped and flopped onto her bed before saying, "It's just…"

"Jaune?" Yang spoke up.

Ruby nodded. "I… I'm sure you guys noticed it too. He's been so… odd. He never used to be so focused on just training. And he's a lot quieter now. I'm… I'm worried about him."

"You aren't the only one, Ruby," Blake assured her. "I hardly interacted with Jaune before he asked me for training, but even I have to agree."

"Then again, we all saw it the day after the dance, didn't we?" Yang said.

"Yes, he already looked to be a changed person then," Blake agreed. "But… he changed overnight so much. I doubt there's many things that can do that to a person."

Ruby jumped down from her perch on her bed and crossed her arms. "I think I have an idea, though."

"And what would that be?" Yang asked.

Weiss almost jumped when Ruby suddenly turned and looked at her, some heat in her eyes.

"What?" she asked her leader.

"It has _something_ to do with you, Weiss," Ruby said with conviction. "I just know it."

"Wha- That's preposterous!" Weiss spoke up heatedly, though her mind betrayed her words by keeping the very same accusation in her head. "I have nothing to do with that dolt!"

"See? That's what I mean!" Ruby exclaimed, shutting her up.

"I have to admit, it does seem to concern you in some way, Weiss," Blake said.

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked.

"Haven't you seen him?" Yang said with a raised eyebrow. "Every time you're talked about or mentioned, he tenses up and quiets down. Heck, he even looks tenser during lunchtimes, and we always sit together with JNPR for those."

"So what? You're saying this is my fault?" Weiss accused.

"Maybe not, but you're definitely involved in some way," Ruby said.

"Actually, why not ask those who may know?" Blake suddenly spoke up, walking to the door. The rest of the team followed her as she walked to JNPR's dorm room.

Before she could knock, however, the door was opened by a sardonically-smiling Ren.

"You girls realise we can hear you, right? Especially when you're being so loud," Ren said.

"Oh, uh…" Blake froze a little, then shook her head. "Then I'm sure you know why we came to you guys."

Ren sighed. "Yes, we're aware." He opened the door fully, showing Pyrrha and Nora on their beds and Jaune nowhere to be found. "You're lucky that Jaune's out right now."

"Doing what?" Ruby asked.

"Considering the last few weeks, probably training again," Pyrrha was the one who answered.

"And Blake, before you ask, we came to the same conclusion," Ren said as he invited the girls in and walked to his bed. "We've noticed his reluctance to speak in any length about our resident Ice Queen." "Hey!" "But we have no idea why he's like this."

"He hasn't mentioned a single thing?" Yang asked as she joined Nora on the ginger's bed.

"Not at all," Nora said, uncharacteristically serious. "Weiss, what did you do to him?"

"I've done nothing to him!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked, more gently than Nora. "Jaune isn't the kind of guy to hold a grudge like this, and certainly not to such lengths. Think, Weiss. What could you have done to make him avoid you like this?"

Weiss looked down, racking her brains. However, someone else beat her to the punch.

"I think I might have an answer, actually," Nora said, drawing everyone's attention to her. "Renny, Pyr, you two remember what he was so down in the dumps about the night before the dance, right?"

Her teammates' eyes lit up in understanding, but Team RWBY was still confused.

"What do you mean?" Blake spoke up.

"The evening before the dance, Jaune asked to talk to me so I could give him advice on girls," Ren explained, his facial expression giving away his awkwardness at the subject. "Before I could say anything, however, Pyrrha came in and helped him in my stead."

"I told him to…" Pyrrha began, looking away for a moment. "To be himself. No suave moves. No tricks. No cool moves. He just had to be himself." A slight gasp from Weiss took her attention. "What is it?"

"That's… that's the same thing Neptune told me Jaune told _him_ to get him to talk to me during the dance," Weiss explained faintly.

"Then that settles it, doesn't it?" Nora said. "Why was he feeling down and asking Renny for advice?" She stood on her bed, jostling Yang slightly, and pointed dramatically at Weiss. "Because _you_ , Ice Queen, shot him down so harshly!"

"What?!" Weiss was quicker to counter than they thought. "That's ridiculous! You're accusing me of hurting his feelings?"

"Well, yes," Pyrrha spoke up. "Jaune wears his heart on his sleeve, Weiss, and he's quite emotional. It stands to reason that a strong enough strike to those would change him, now that I think about it."

"Well, you've got it half right, at least."

Everyone jumped in shock, turning to the door, where the very same blonde young man was leaning against the open door frame, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Jaune!" Nora exclaimed, jumping from her bed and towards him in a perfect arc. Jaune smiled at this and held his hands out, catching her and spinning her like a child. The display brought a smile to the occupants of the room, but the smiles disappeared when Jaune set her down and his face returned to a stoic look.

"What do you mean, Jaune?" Ren asked, catching Nora as the energetic girl returned to her bed.

"Exactly what I said," Jaune returned, moving to his bed and walking past Weiss without any indication that he acknowledged her presence. "I figured that you'd get it eventually, but you're half right."

"Then what is the other half of the story?" Blake asked curiously.

Jaune remained silent for a moment, undoing the straps to his armour first and laying it down on his bed. He did the same with his hoodie, leaving him in a plain white shirt. Then, after placing that and his sword and shield on his bed as well, he spoke. "You guys don't know this, since I hardly talk about my past, but growing up back home was really similar to living here in Beacon, in love-life terms at least. Every time, it was the same. I would see a pretty girl, I would really like her, I would ask her out…" He looked up, his eyes blank. "And much like with our resident Ice Queen, I would get rejected, harshly. But I didn't let that bring me down… At least, that's what I told myself." He walked over to where the team kept their towels, seven pairs of eyes following his every move quietly. "They hurt, every time. And with each one, there was always a reason why I was never good enough. 'You're too short', 'you're too weak', 'you're too nice'. There was always something. You could say that Weiss' rejection was the spike that broke the Ursa's back." He grabbed his towel, continuing to speak as if he was talking more to himself than to the group. "There I was, white rose in hand, ready to talk plainly to Weiss that I was sorry for being so annoying, for giving all the wrong impressions, for trying to be something I'm not. And lo and behold, when I finally see her, it's to see her going up to 'so-fucking-cool-that-I'm-freezing' Neptune and asking _him_ out. And that… just stopped me. It made me think." He finally turned back to his friends. "It made me _realise_ that I was doing things wrong. That I was focusing on all the wrong things. The fact that there's a statue of my thrice-damned grandfather in the courtyard made it worse for me, because I realised that I _just wasn't good enough_. I never was, and with me not taking my training seriously, coupled with the coddling my family gave me… I just snapped, you could say." He walked to the door of the room, towel on his shoulder. "I guess I just thought I'd never be good enough. That was the tenth on my count of failures, and I wasn't going to bother anymore. Instead, I recognised that I needed to focus on what really mattered in this world for me to survive. What was going to be the use of me having a girlfriend, much less one so high and mighty, if a Beowulf sliced me to pieces or a Nevermore gobbled me up? Absolutely none. I didn't fake my way into Beacon, of all places, to try and be a Casanova. I just… never really realised that until then."

"Wait, are you saying you're giving up?" Ruby asked.

"Are you being specific on what I'm giving up?" Jaune asked in return.

"Well… in love, I guess."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, then sighed. "No… not exactly. But I'm not going out of my way to tempt failure. If it comes, I'll be happy, I guess. If not…" Jaune shrugged. "Then I die alone. Big whoop."

"Big whoop?!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"Well, yeah. My parents have seven other kids," Jaune responded stoically. "I'm not going to force myself into a relationship if it's just going to be torture. So what if I don't get a girl pregnant? They've got seven other options."

That last sentence left the seven others shocked. Especially because they felt that it wasn't focused purely on his chances for having a family.

This time, and for once in the last few weeks, Jaune looked at Weiss on his own free will, and the heiress shivered under his gaze. "So, Miss Schnee… I suppose I should thank you. Thank you for being the one to open my eyes and showing me that I was the one that had my priorities skewed. Thank you… for giving me a reality check. Tell Neptune when you see him that he better not forget my words."

And with those cold words, he left the room, heading for the showers.

"Wow, Weiss… you really did a number on him," Yang whistled.

Weiss was unable to respond. Someone else, however, was.

"Wait a second, there's still a chance for him!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing towards Pyrrha, who jerked back in surprise. "Pyrrha! You have to tell him that you like him! You can't let him drown in his sorrow like this!"

"He already knows."

Pyrrha's words served to shock team RWBY.

"W-What?" Yang asked for clarification.

"Jaune and I already talked about my feelings for him," Pyrrha sighed, leaning back and resting her back against her bed's headrest. "As it turns out, our lovable goof isn't as blind as we like to believe. But just a week ago, he brought up the subject with me and we talked about it."

"And… what did he say?" Blake asked.

"That he doesn't see me in that way, plain and simple," Pyrrha responded, much calmer than team RWBY would have expected. "He knew of my crush on him, but he never saw me in that light. And I have to admit that some of it was my fault. When the school year began, even when I didn't notice it, I would coddle him a lot, going easy on him during our training sessions and being very, _very_ protective of him in missions. Because of it, I didn't have the best of lights in his head by the time he caught on to my feelings. He said that, in fact, I reminded him a lot of three of his sisters, who were the same."

"Ooh… you got sister-zoned?" Yang groaned.

Pyrrha nodded and shrugged. "You could say that. And I couldn't very well refute it. I also feel that he was right when he said that I attached myself so quickly to him because he was one of the few that didn't place me on a pedestal because of my reputation." The redhead sighed. "I won't say that I got over him already, but I can say that I would much rather be a good friend than to have a bad relationship because we could not give ourselves to each other fully."

"But then… why would Jaune tie himself to Weiss so deeply?" Ruby asked.

There were shrugs all around.

The entire time, Weiss still stood in between the doors, staring blankly at the door to team JNPR's room.


	3. Break From The Past 3

Several weeks later, team RWBY was relaxing in their room when Ruby's scroll rang, signalling a new message. After reading it, she jumped from her bunk and addressed the room.

"Alright, team, suit up! We've got a mission!"

Blake started without fanfare, but Yang groaned. "Awww, I was hoping to just chill today!"

"Too bad, sis! Get moving!" Ruby exclaimed, goading her older sister on. She turned to the final member, only to see her staring blankly at Ruby's top bunk. "Weiss, you there?"

"I heard you, Ruby," Weiss said, standing up slowly and getting herself ready, aware of Ruby's concerned look towards her.

The entire team was like this. Ever since the event in JNPR's dorm a few weeks back, RBY would find that their resident Ice Queen would become rather quiet. It mainly happened in two areas (either their dorm room or the cafeteria during breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and it didn't affect her classes, training, or fighting, so the team wasn't entirely worried, but whenever she went quiet, her face would become blank, and she would enter very deep thinking.

And they were sure they could guess the reason why.

Once they were all ready, the team headed to Ozpin's office, where a surprise would be waiting for them.

When the doors opened, RWBY noticed Ozpin sitting at his desk, poring over a few files. To their surprise, however, they also spotted the blonde mop of Jaune Arc, who was sitting on a chair just a few feet away, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Girls, glad you came in time," Ozpin spoke up, taking his eyes away from the papers. "I was just going over your mission parameters. I was originally going to assign this mission to team JNPR, but unfortunately, other situations came up."

"Other situations?" Blake asked.

"Yes. It seems one Ms. Valkyrie chose to fill herself with pancakes this morning, as she usually does. Unfortunately, she was just coming down with a cold, so this went down badly into her stomach. She is currently in the Medical Wing being treated for food poisoning."

"Ooh dear," Ruby winced. "That can't be fun."

"Indeed," Ozpin smiled wryly. "Due to this, I decided to instead conduct a small training exercise, hence mister Arc's presence." The girls looked back at Jaune, who was now gazing at them. "As mister Arc's team is currently one member short, I will instead assign this mission to you, team RWBY. However, the mission will be led by mister Arc."

The girls looked back at the headmaster, surprised.

"As a five-person group, you shall travel to a village on the upper areas of Vale, from which we recently received a distress call. It was difficult to receive, as the signal was very scratchy, so alongside the standard extermination mission, you five are tasked to find the signal tower near the village and check to see if it has any issues. Any questions?"

The girls had none.

"Very well, then. Mister Arc." Jaune stood as his name was called, walking over to the desk. "Here are the mission files. Best of luck to you."

"Thank you, headmaster," Jaune nodded, accepting the papers and nodding. He turned back to the girls and said, "Well, let's get going."

...

"Ooh, this is awesome!" Ruby said, jumping in excitement on the middle of the bullhead. "I haven't heard anything about a five person team training exercise! We must be the first ones to be doing this!"

"Take it easy, Rubes," Yang chuckled. "We're just going to kill some Grimm, nothing major."

"It'll be a good exercise nonetheless," Blake commented. "It will give us insight into how the CCT works outside the major areas like Vale." She turned to one of the two silent members. "Jaune, are you still reading the mission details?"

Jaune, who had been sitting and staring at a few papers the entire fifteen minutes they'd been in the bullhead, shook his head. "No. I already memorized those." He handed them over to her. "You can read them if you want, though there's not much else in there that Ozpin didn't already tell us."

"Then what are you looking at?" Ruby asked, zipping over to his side and looking at the blue, laminated paper in his hand.

"Schematics for the signal tower near the village," Jaune explained shortly.

"You can understand those?" Ruby asked.

"Enough," was Jaune's short answer. "That, and it helps distract me from the motion sickness."

The rest of the ride was spent quietly, with Blake and Yang looking out the side of the bullhead, Weiss staring at her lap, and Jaune scanning the signal tower blueprint with Ruby looking over his shoulder.

It was several minutes later that the pilot called from the front, "Alright, team Arubic, I'm gonna need to drop you guys off some klicks south from the village. There's some Nevermore and Griffon sightings."

The five of them accepted this easily, but Ruby had a thought. "Team Arubic?"

"First thing that came to mind with you guys' initials," the pilot said sheepishly. "Kind of hard thinking of something with A, R, W, B, and Y. That's more of Headmaster Ozpin's thing."

The team chuckled at his explanation and got themselves ready to drop. As soon the bullhead turned and levelled, Yang jumped first, using her gauntlets' recoil to slow herself down and land without issue. Blake followed, jumping off a clone when she passed the treetops and then off a branch to further slow her momentum. Weiss simply created some airborne glyphs and bounced from one to another to the ground. And finally, Ruby reused her initiation technique of using her weapon's recoil and a branch to slow herself down.

"Wait a sec," Yang piped up. "How is Vomit Boy gonna-?"

A slam behind her cut her off and simultaneously made her and her teammates cover their eyes. When they looked, Jaune was stepping out of a crater that hadn't been there the moment previous, stretching his neck.

"Still need to work on that..." he muttered, before realizing RWBY was staring at him. "What?"

"Did you just drop out of a bullhead almost a mile above without a parachute?" Blake asked.

"Yes."

"But... How did-?"

"Aura," Jaune cut off Ruby's question with a shrug.

"You'd waste aura on that?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Woman, I've got aura to waste in bucket loads," Jaune scoffed, looking up at the sun and pulling out a compass at the same time. "Alright, let's head to the village."

…

The trip to the village was rather uneventful, for what the five-some was expecting. Being the one with the most training in tracking, Jaune placed Blake right behind him, as he was leading due to being the only one with a shield. Yang and Weiss brought up the middle, and finally Ruby came in last, keeping an eye on the area behind them and occasionally scoping out the area ahead with her sniper rifle.

It wasn't until twenty minutes of walking that they finally arrived at the supposed village, and what they found was unnerving, to say the least.

The entire place seemed to have been abandoned. As the group entered through the main entrance of the village, Jaune took note of the fact that most of the buildings were damaged, something that set him on edge. Grimm were known to only really destroy buildings when a human target was inside, and never really went for collateral damage. To add to the worry, he could just barely see scorch marks around the destroyed parts of several buildings.

As they approached the village square, Jaune spoke aloud about this. "Guys, I have a bad feeling about this."

"What are you talking about, Ladykiller?" Yang asked him, checking around the area they were in.

"What I _mean_ is that this doesn't seem like a Grimm attack to me," Jaune responded, glancing about as well.

"I had the same suspicions," Blake spoke up. "While I did note a few Grimm tracks in the forest outside, they weren't prevalent enough to signify an attack, and especially not one of this scale."

"Plus, Grimm almost never attack buildings," Jaune said, pointing with his sword at a two-story house near them. The house was crumbled, with an entire side of it missing. The roof seemed to have collapsed into the building, and along the front edge of it were several scorch marks, signifying fire damage through a semblance or fire Dust. "That kind of damage seems deliberate to me."

"How _astute_ of you, Mister Arc."

The group jumped together at the sudden voice, turning to the source. Standing on the stairs of what Jaune presumed was the village's main hall was a woman wearing a red, flowing dress, which cut off at her knees in the front and had golden accents. Her face was covered in a fox-style mask, through the eyeholes of which he could see only gold. She had long, black hair, which was pulled back into a ponytail that fell over her right shoulder.

"How fortunate am I," the woman spoke, her tone low and malicious, "that Ozpin would choose to send the biggest thorns in my side to me."

Jaune pulled back a little, now realizing what was going on. He quickly called out, "Everyone, diamond formation! Weiss, to the centre! Yang, Blake, to the sides! Ruby, behind!"

The group followed the orders immediately, taking their positions and staring at the woman expectantly while Jaune stood in front, shield deployed.

"Oh… how adorable," was all she said before raising her hand, palm splayed out towards them.

Jaune's eyes widened when he heard the sound of rushing air behind him, turning his head enough to notice the glowing red circle appearing just underneath Weiss. Clenching his fist, he stepped back quickly and raised his leg, kicking her back into Ruby, who caught her.

The heiress was unprepared for the kick that came to her midsection, having been too preoccupied with the immediate danger underneath her. She cried out in surprise at the sudden attack, but was reassured when she was caught by her red partner. Her mental state returned to worry upon hearing an explosion happen just in front of them, sending her and Ruby flying back and making Blake and Yang separate. When she looked up, however, she realized that they had come off lightly.

The explosion had happened right behind Jaune, who she now realized was the one that had kicked her. It had sent him flying forward, directly towards the woman in red, who had reached out a hand and caught him by grabbing the lower half of his face, displaying an impressive feat of strength by holding him up single-handedly. As she was standing on stairs, this left Jaune hanging by her hand, unable to get his feet on the ground and attempting to pry her hand off his face, with negligent results.

"So… You're the youngest son of the Arcs, are you?" the woman said in a low voice, as if she were asking about the weather. "You don't know how to stay down, do you?"

Jaune made several muffled noises, but merely continued to try and free himself. He shot out a knee towards the woman's midsection, but she effortlessly slapped his knee back, and if the flash of light from the contact indicated anything, she did so with extreme force.

"Now, now, none of that," the woman commented with a laugh. "Just accept this for what it is, Mister Arc. You… shall be the first."

The woman raised her free hand, bringing all of her fingers together into a blade-like form. With her intent clear, Team RWBY rushed to try and help Jaune, but found their path blocked when the woman carelessly waved her hand towards them and four more circles appeared in an arc in front of them, creating explosions that pushed them back further. Recovering from the sudden attack, they looked up simultaneously, only to watch as the woman's hand began to spark as if it were about to catch fire.

With a single movement she thrust the hand forward into her prisoner's chest, and to Team RWBY's shock, Jaune began screaming in a muffled tone, the reason why becoming apparent in a horrifying manner as Jaune's back bulged for a moment before the woman's hand broke through the skin and bone with a sickening squelch and a flash of light, the appendage now covered in blood that dripped to the lowest of the stairs.

The frozen, first-year team stared at the scene happening before them, stricken to silence. They could only watch as the hand retracted, leaving a bloody, gaping hole in his torso which bled profusely; as Jaune's attempts to free himself from the woman's hold became weaker and weaker, his body becoming limp until his arms fell to his sides, unmoving; as the woman finally released Jaune, who fell to the stairs, bounced off at an awkward angle, then came to rest at the base torso-down, with his wide, blue eyes staring blankly towards them. They could only watch… as the woman walked down the steps and towards them, stepping over Jaune's limp body uncaringly, and simply saying five words.

"And now… for the rest."

And all at once, the dam broke, and a scream was released and echoed, followed by an explosion of power that covered the entire area in a bright glow.

…

 **Jaune just got Yamcha'd.**


	4. Jaune's Departure

**I'm putting the finishing touches on the next chapter of Break From the Past, so in the meantime, have this little nugget:**

* * *

"So, you guys don't know where he is? At all?"

Ren and Nora shook their heads sadly.

"It's as if he vanished as soon as he made sure Nora and I were okay," Ren explained, rubbing Nora's head as the ginger made a sound of mixed annoyance and sadness. "We tried to call him, but with the CCT down, all of our attempts have been for naught."

"It isn't just that," Ruby sighed, settling down next to them. "I think his scroll itself broke, since he was suddenly cut off from Weiss when he told us about Pyrrha."

The trio gazed out towards the forest, the creaking sounds of Ruby's home coming from behind them. Ruby had contacted both Ren and Nora to see how they were doing and explain what she was planning on doing, and both of them had insisted on helping her track down the ones that had planned the attack on Beacon Academy.

However, when she tried to contact Jaune, the call was never picked up, and when she asked Ren and Nora, they had a similar story.

"Do you think…?" Ruby began.

"That this was caused by what happened to Pyrrha?" Ren finished. "Most likely, yes. But… I just can't imagine Jaune going off to fight on his own."

"Things like this can change people," Nora spoke up, most of her usual cheer gone. "It was the same for you and me, right, Renny?"

Ren nodded, holding Nora just a little tighter.

"Then it's settled," Ruby said, standing up with a flourish. "We need to find Jaune."

"But… do you have any idea where he might be?" Nora asked.

"I have someone I can ask who I think can help."

* * *

The building was quiet, the patrons inside only focused on their drinks or their thoughts. The quaint little place near the edge of Anima was one of a large chain of bars and lounges that catered for specific customers. Due to their niche, these were either located deep in the center of towns and villages, or had heavy protection if located anywhere else.

For the feelings that came from inside this place were strong enough to attract serious trouble.

At the bar of this place, one young man was staring deep into the glass in front of him, the reflection on it showing a pale, haggard face, which was surrounded by limp and unkempt blonde hair. His normally bright blue eyes were dark and surrounded by heavy bags, and his lips were cracked from dryness.

With a snort of annoyance, he grabbed the glass and downed his drink.

It had been a hell of a month for the only male son of the Arc family of ten. He had refused to go home, only using a temporary scroll to send his family a message that he would not be returning for some time. He couldn't bring himself to face his family; not just yet. He didn't want to burden them with a person so lost in his thoughts and miseries.

Instead, he had left, not even bothering with saying goodbye to anyone. What could he say? It was his fault and he knew it. He had gotten a single job from the headmaster of Beacon, and due to his thrice-damned emotions and lack of awareness, he had messed up.

And it had cost him, and everyone else, dearly.

He berated himself again and again, wandering further and further into the forests outside Vale. He supposed he was lucky that the beacon that was the dragon Grimm on Beacon Tower was stronger than his own emotional pull on the creatures of darkness, but even then, he encountered his fair share of enemies on his path. He fought them automatically, his body remembering _her_ lessons and the techniques _she_ had shown and drilled into him, and when he won, he did not celebrate, but instead moved on.

It had been by pure chance that he had found Xione village. And in it, he had found a place for himself to drown out his sorrows.

And here he was. Going from a rented room in a nearby inn to a bar where he could get himself wasted and hopefully, eventually, forget.

But it hadn't come.

It had been four long months since he had arrived, and he had yet to forget _her_. Her face; he cute, green eyes; her long, red hair, held together by a ponytail, and which looked heavenly falling like a waterfall down her back whenever she let it loose; and most of all, her kindness and compassion, especially for a failure such as himself.

And in the end, what had that gotten her?

He had failed yet again, and it cost her… her life.

He grunted in annoyance and finished his drink, signaling to the bartender for one more… his fifth of the night if he remembered correctly.

Taking the odd Grimm destruction job had earned him a few lien, thankfully.

He barely registered the door to the bar opening, focused more on the glass that was slid in front of his face. He reached out to grab it, but another hand beat him to it. He turned, intent on giving the owner a hell of an earful, but his words stopped halfway out as he beheld a somewhat familiar face.

"Gotta admit…" the man slurred, downing the liquor. "I didn't think I'd be seeing one of my nieces' friends here of all places…"

"You're…" Jaune muttered, "Qrow, right?"

The raven-haired man chuckled and nodded, taking a seat next to him. "Got it in one, kiddo."

He signaled for the bartender as Jaune looked at him, telling him to bring another round of drinks for the both of them.

"You know, you've got some people real worried about you," Qrow spoke up after a moment of silence.

"Really?" Jaune responded sarcastically, which then changed. "What would they gain from associating with a failure like me? They should focus on their own lives…"

"They care about you, that's why," Qrow responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And besides, failure? I've seen and heard of your work here in Xione, kid, and I don't think a failure can do all that."

"Then you clearly haven't heard all about me," Jaune responded, grabbing his new glass and downing it quickly.

"I've heard enough," Qrow said simply.

The pair remained in silence for a while, simply nursing their drinks, until Jaune sighed.

"What do you want?" he asked resignedly.

"What makes you think I want anything?" Qrow snarked.

"Don't play games with me, Qrow. I'm not in the mood," Jaune growled.

"Jeez, kid, calm your tits," Qrow chuckled. "I almost felt a shiver up my spine there. _Almost_."

Jaune huffed and reached into his pocket, drawing out a wad of lien. He put down enough for his drinks plus some extra for the bartender, then stood.

"Ah, ah, ah," Qrow called out, his hand shooting out and grabbing Jaune's arm. "And where are _you_ going?"

"Back to my room," Jaune let out between grinding teeth.

"Can't let you just run off, kid," Qrow mused. "I _have_ been looking for you."

Jaune turned back, his mouth already half open, but it stopped when he saw the serious expression on Qrow's face.

"They're worried," Qrow said. "Really worried. Ruby hasn't been the same since her team disbanded, and now that she knows that you left and haven't been seen, she's been dead set on trying to find you."

"She shouldn't," Jaune insisted. "She should stay away from me."

"And why is that?"

"Because…"

Jaune faltered, but Qrow pressed on. "Why should my niece, who's so worried about you, continue to think you might be dead or something, huh?"

"Because that would prevent her from dying because of me!"

Jaune's exclamation drew the attention of a bunch of other patrons, but they quickly returned to their drinks, not giving enough fucks to really care.

"Ah, and we've reached the crux of the problem," Qrow said airily.

Jaune huffed, his eyes shaky, as he flopped back down on his seat. "She should stay away… so she doesn't die… like _she_ did… because of me."

Qrow remained silent, just waiting for the blonde next to him to let it out. But he never did. He kept staring at the bar, his eyes blank. Qrow looked at the young man in scrutiny, noticing several emotions fly by his face, until a look of realization crossed it. The blonde looked at Qrow as if seeing him for the first time, something that unnerved the older man.

"Qrow… You're a Huntsman, right?"

"Astute observation, kid," Qrow sarcastically replied, reaching out for another drink.

That hand was promptly stopped when another snatched his wrist, and he turned to look into Jaune's eyes. His own eyes widened upon noticing that the blank and desolate look on Jaune's face had disappeared, and instead, his eyes were narrowed into a determined frown.

"Please… train me!"

…


	5. Break From The Past 4

"… iss… Weiss…! Weiss!"

The yelling voice slowly brought the heiress back to the living world, her body shivering for a moment before her eyes opened. Her black-themed teammate let out a sigh of relief as the girl's eyes opened and she groggily focused.

"Blake…?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright," Blake said, reaching into her pouch to pull out a canteen of water. "Hurry, get on your feet. You must be tired after that."

"After… what?" the white-themed girl asked as she greedily gulped the water.

"You don't remember?" Blake asked. "Never mind, then. I'll explain later."

That's when the rest of the pieces clicked in Weiss' mind.

"Jaune!" she exclaimed, forcing herself to her feet unsteadily. When she spotted the young man still lying torso-down where he had been just before, her eyes widened and she dashed towards him, Blake hot on her heels.

The pair knelt on either side of him, unable to look away from the hand-sized hole on his torso. A pool of blood had already accumulated under him, and to further drive the image into their minds, they could see his flesh struggling to regenerate and close itself, the remainders of his aura likely trying to save him.

Blake, being a little more used to scenes like this due to her history, quickly knelt by Jaune after realizing the latter part of that inspection. She did her best to turn him onto his back, being careful to prevent his head from lolling too quickly, then placed two fingers to his major artery.

"He's alive!" she exclaimed, snapping Weiss out of her stupor. As the heiress knelt by her and their current leader, Blake continued, "His heartbeat's falling fast, but he's definitely still alive."

Weiss stared with blank eyes at the slowly-rebuilding hole in his chest. Now that she could see his front, she noted that his chest plate had been incinerated from the bottom down, likely by the woman's burning hand. His hoodie was broken, burned, and bloodstained once again, and the hole on his chest looked even worse from the entry point.

Her thoughts were tumultuous as she looked at him. She felt so powerless right now, but in the back of her mind, a voice yelled at her to help him; to do whatever she could. It told her that she had to pay him back; a Schnee always settled their debts. It told her that he didn't deserve this; he had done nothing but his best since she had first seen him, and to have all that crash now would be a complete shame.

Blake watched as Weiss' face went from blank to a resolved frown.

"Take off his hood," she ordered in a weak but determined tone.

Deciding not to question her for now, Blake did as told and quickly divested Jaune of his broken breastplate and hoodie. After laying the now topless Jaune back on the floor, Weiss knelt next to him and extended her hand over his wound. Sweat began to pour from her face as she focused on the scant amounts of Aura she had left, and within moments, one of her trademark white glyphs appeared under her hand and floated just above Jaune's wound. Eyes widening in wonder, the Faunus watched as Jaune's torso began to freeze over, ice filling the inside of the wound before spreading out and covering his torso in a belt-like fashion.

Finally, as the ice completely encased the wound, Weiss let the glyph fade and fell back onto her haunches, panting in exhaustion.

"What did you do…?" Blake asked in wonder, looking over the frozen wound. Placing her fingers against Jaune's neck again, she was relieved to feel his heartbeat continue at a more even pace now.

"What I could…" Weiss responded tiredly. "Call Beacon and tell them to send emergency services, yesterday."

"That's already been done, considering the state you and Ruby were in," Blake responded, checking her scroll.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked, looking around and finally noticing her team leader and her sister, the latter of whom was kneeling and holding the head of the passed-out reaper. "What happened to her? Did that woman-?"

"No, she didn't do anything," Blake answered. "Matter of fact, when the bright light had disappeared, so did she. Could've sword I heard her scream in pain, though."

"Bright light?"

"Oh, right," Blake remembered the fact that Weiss passed out and decided to explain. "As soon as the woman approached us, you and Ruby seemed to just snap. You summoned some kind of giant sword and Ruby exploded with power, which made the two of you pass out."

Weiss looked down, now barely remembering a feeling of pure rage coursing through her earlier, as well as a powerful draw on her aura and semblance. So _that's_ what had put her in this state.

"Huh, interesting," Weiss commented aloud. "My first success in summoning and it's completely instinctual."

"I think many actions taken with semblances are 'instinctual' at first," Blake responded, checking Jaune's vitals one more time as she began to hear the sound of rotors approaching their position. "We should get ready to be picked up."

Weiss stood up, struggling a little to balance herself, then walked over to where Yang and Ruby were.

"How is she?" Weiss asked immediately.

"She'll be fine," Yang responded, the relief clear in her tone. "It seems whatever she did just tired her out. And you?"

"I think I'm the same. Just really tired," Weiss responded, sighing.

Just then, a screech cut their conversation, making them all look up. Just above the village, a Nevermore was floating, looking to something north of their position. It began to dive in that direction, but a hail of bullets met its charge, ripping it apart and making it disperse long before it reached its intended target. Then, an airship appeared, making their hair and clothes flutter in the wind it created. When it was just above their position, a hatch opened underneath it and a team of people jumped out, landing in a square formation at the village square. The most noticeable was a fashionable girl in the front, who had a minigun in her hands that was more than half her size.

"Hey," the fashionista greeted, "the name's Coco, leader of team CFVY, pronounced coffee. Heard you guys have someone in critical condition?"

Calm and to-the-point. The girl had immediately risen in the respect books of WBY.

"Yes, over here," Blake called out, motioning towards the blonde at her knees.

"Velvet, go check it out," Coco ordered as she and a tonfa-wielding redhead walked off to where the CCT signal tower would be.

A brunette, bunny-eared Faunus nodded, jogging over to where Blake and Jaune were. Weiss followed her, drawing a nod of greeting from the girl as the pair knelt by the injured young man.

"Is this your handiwork?" Velvet asked, looking at Weiss and pointing at the frozen cast the blonde had. When Weiss nodded, the Faunus nodded back in admiration. "Good call."

The girl reached into a pouch and withdrew a flask of blue, goopy-looking liquid. Noticing the looks being sent to the flask by Weiss and Blake, she explained, "This is a mixture of aura and ground fire dust, as well as a healing gel. It helps with aura channelling as well as giving the user's aura a revitalising 'kick'."

The girl tilted a few drops of the mixture into Jaune's mouth, then asked Weiss to shatter the ice she had created. After the white-haired girl did so, she then rubbed some of the mixture on her palms and pressed them to the perforation in Jaune's chest, on either side. Closing her eyes, the girl channelled her aura through the mixture, and Weiss and Blake watched in wonder as Jaune's aura responded in kind, appearing as a constant bubble-like shield where Velvet's hands were and pulsing brightly.

When Velvet drew her hands away, the hole had been closed up, with the only remainder of it being a burn scar that looked to be a deeper shade of red than the overall bur scars that had come from his first time being immolated inside out. Checking his vitals, Velvet said, "Alright, he's more stable now. Let's get him and your team leader inside the transport."

…


	6. ASTF Pilot 1

The courtyard of Beacon Academy was quiet, a stark contrast to the number of students that were lining the sides. Most were from the first and second years of the prestigious academy, as they were the ones that had the least amount of schoolwork and mission work necessary and could come to witness this event.

An event that would serve to deter many other future ones like it.

Standing at the center of the courtyard, just in front of the reverent statue that marked the core of the hub, was a blonde young man. Going by the name Jaune Arc, he was the reason as to why everyone was gathered here today.

Or rather, his actions before coming to the school were.

Despite how those that knew him thought he would act, and the seriousness of the situation, Jaune was calm, though his countenance would suggest otherwise. His eyebrows were furrowed, his mouth set in a closed scowl, and his arms were crossed. At his feet was a bag, containing the only belongings he had brought to the school.

The courtyard remained quiet, the only sounds perpetrating the air being the occasional whisper from the gathered student crowd or the breath of the wind on the grass and trees of the courtyard. Another noise soon joined it: the tapping of a sneaker against stone as Jaune's foot began to bounce up and down in impatience.

"… You'd think they're trying to track down every other transcript forger in Remnant…" he muttered to himself.

He closed his eyes, partly in annoyance. The other part was so he would not be able to see the faces of those around him. He didn't want to see any of the scorn and humiliation he was sure they would be sending his way. And… he didn't want to look at the faces of his friends.

If he could still call them that.

Finally, the sound of stilettos impacting against stone came to his ears, and he opened his eyes to witness not the headmaster, as he was expecting, but Glynda Goodwitch, the man's deputy.

"Jaune Miles Arc…" she said when she was but a few feet from him. "Are you prepared?"

"About as well as I'll ever be," Jaune responded, surprised to hear no stutter in his own tone.

"You must have been aware that you would eventually be found out. Those who try to use illegitimate means to enter a Huntsman Academy never last long enough." She leveled a small glare at him over the ridge of her glasses. "Be glad that you are still able to leave with your body parts intact."

Jaune didn't respond to that one.

"Any last words you would like to say?" Glynda asked.

Jaune remained silent for a few seconds, and it wasn't until the first signs of the Bullhead that would take him to Vale appeared in the sky that he spoke.

"Only that I won't apologize… for attempting to achieve my dream with the resources I had."

He hadn't mean to speak loudly, but the words were heard nonetheless.

With that done, Jaune reached down and grabbed his rucksack, turning and watching the Bullhead approach the landing pad. Before he could begin walking, however, someone stepped in front of him.

His redheaded partner… or ex-partner, now.

"Pyrrha," Jaune nodded at her, noticing the moisture gathering by her eyes. "I suppose you're going to have to carry on in my stead. I wasn't going to make all that good a leader anyway."

The Mistralian champion shook her head. "Nonsense, Jaune. You'd have done just fine. Just with the way you led us against the Deathstalker showed that you have it in you. You just needed-."

"- a chance." Jaune finished the sentence in a melancholic tone. "One that I suppose I could never get."

Pyrrha sobbed once, then reached forward and grabbed Jaune into a hug, one that he quickly reciprocated.

"Hey now, don't cry. It's not like we'll never see each other again," Jaune tried to assure her, patting her back. "You have my contact info. Just call me if you ever want to talk."

Pyrrha sobbed once more but nodded into his shoulder.

"Miss Nikos, step aside," Glynda commanded the redhead.

Pyrrha, however, didn't budge until she felt Jaune move away from her. When she let him go, she was dismayed to see his face was back to the same stoic look he had earlier.

"Goodbye… Pyrrha."

And with that, Jaune walked away from her, headed to the Bullhead that had now arrived. He stepped inside and dropped his rucksack next to him. He didn't turn around once.

* * *

As soon as the Bullhead landed back in Vale, Jaune disembarked, his stomach starting to settle now that he was on even ground. He looked down and closed his eyes, waiting for his pains to recede.

When the feeling of nausea finally subsided, Jaune sighed. "I'm really going to have to learn how to control that."

"Yes, I do believe you will."

Jaune's eyes snapped open at the unexpected, deep voice. Looking up, he was met with an intimidating sight: a tall man with black hair stood in front of him, wearing a white military suit. Just behind the man were two Atlesian Knights, robotic soldiers made by the military the very man in front of him was the general of.

James Ironwood.

The blonde was at a loss for words, but despite that, a feeling of dread settled in his stomach.

"Can… Can I help you?" Jaune asked, cursing his temporary loss of words.

Ironwood stared at him neutrally, as if trying to figure something out, then smirked and asked, "You're Jaune Miles Arc, are you not?"

"Yes, that's me." The teen could already tell that the question was more of a formality.

"Very well. Come with me, Jaune. We have a lot to talk about."

The taller man turned on his heel and strode off, his guards following with the same motion. After a blink, Jaune picked up his rucksack and followed, absently adjusting Crocea Mors' position on his hip.

That short movement reminded him of something important.

"If you're going to arrest me," Jaune spoke up in a defeated tone as he caught up with the General, "Could you at least send Crocea Mors back to my family?"

Ironwood looked over to the blonde young man, one eyebrow raised, then chuckled. "Oh, I see. I can understand why you would think so, but I am not here to arrest you, Mister Arc."

"You're not?" Jaune asked in surprise, staring at the man.

This time, Ironwood laughed. "No, Mister Arc, I'm not. I'm the General of the Atlesian Military Forces, not the Valean ones. Whatever they decide to do with transcript forgers is meant for the local authorities."

"Oh…" The blood rushed out of Jaune's head at this, leaving him pale. "Crap."

"No, no, don't look like that," Ironwood said, stopping to place a hand on Jaune's shaking shoulder. "I am actually here to help you, Jaune. I came with a proposition."

"And what would that be?" Jaune asked, unwilling to pay attention just yet to the small spark of hope that blossomed in his mind.

"I want to offer you a chance to become what you wanted to achieve at Beacon, but with, say… different means. I want you… to take part of a special Atlesian program that will soon be starting up."

Jaune's eyes widened as the man spoke, the hope spot in his head now becoming brighter. "But… but why me? I forged my way into Beacon. I'm a cheat, a liar, and I'm not even good at fighting."

"Because, Jaune," Ironwood continued calmly, noticing the way Jaune's shoulders slumped with every word out of his mouth, "I see potential in you, and I know I am not the only one that does. I know that Ozpin saw it too, as well as your now ex-partner, Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune raised his head, looking at Ironwood skeptically. "Wait… how do you know I was partnered with Pyrrha?"

Ironwood smirked and pulled out his scroll, showing Jaune the screen. On it was his Beacon profile, showing his name, birthday, basic information (height, weight, etc.), and a picture that had been taken during initiation. Underneath it, there was a list of achievements and scholarly information, which included the faked transcripts and his ex-team information.

"I was nearby when Ozpin contacted me about you," Ironwood explained, motioning towards the information on the scroll. "He explained to me that Glynda, who you know as Miss Goodwitch, had gone directly to the Board of Directors and the Council of Vale about your forgery, leaving his hands tied on the matter. He forwarded me your information, and while you're correct in that your direct combat statistics are not up to par for a Huntsman Academy-," Ironwood's smirk increased when Jaune seemed to slump further at that, "Everything else is just what this project needs. Someone with the drive to become better, not just for themselves, but for the sake of others. Someone willing to go to the limits they have available in order to succeed. Someone adaptable, who can work well with others and coordinate the best plan to succeed. I believe that someone can be you, Jaune, which is why you don't see the Valean authorities coming down on you just yet."

Jaune stared up at the man, confusion and hope intermingled inside him. A moment later, however, his face morphed into a determined frown, and he nodded resolutely. "If you can help me gain the strength to protect others… I'll gladly join you."

"Good," Ironwood smiled proudly, "Because we have a lot of work to do, Jaune."


	7. ASTF Pilot 2

"Hold them off! We just have to hold them off a little longer! Backup's on its way!"

The high-pitched yells of the sixteen year old girl served to bolster the spirits of the six others around her, who readied themselves for the oncoming horde, despite the exhaustion each of them felt.

Teams RWBY and the now named LVN (pronounced Lavender) had grown much in the year since the expulsion of their friend.

Pyrrha had become even more driven to be a Huntress, dedicating herself fully to the life she had chosen. She came to understand the struggles that those who didn't have her opportunities suffered with Jaune's case, his case being only one facet of it. Ren and Nora had been completely shocked by the knowledge of their leader's secret, but it had not taken long for the surprise to abate. Ren, in his usually calm manner, had realized that Ozpin would not simply place someone like Jaune as leader if he didn't have the potential to become something great (and Pyrrha's own accounts of her short-lasting training sessions with Jaune served to add to his claim), while Nora had been more taken by Jaune's kindness and patience and had not held it against him.

They all hoped they could meet with him again, something much more easily said than done.

RWBY had been slightly less impacted by Jaune's expulsion. Ruby herself had felt bad that he had been thrown out and missed her blonde friend, as she had also entered in an odd, though not illegal, manner. Yang, Weiss, and Blake had been considerably less impacted by it, as they had interacted with Jaune much less than Ruby or ex-team JNPR, but were saddened that their leader had been so hurt by the news and done their best to help her out of it.

They only wondered where he was now.

Despite Jaune's words to Pyrrha, she had been unable to get in contact with him the entire year since he had been expelled, hurting the redhead something fierce. She had tried to go to Ozpin for help, but he wouldn't help her, claiming that Jaune was unable to be reached every time she asked.

This left his fate after Beacon in the air, something that terrified and emboldened the girl at the same time. She feared for his well-being, knowing how hard-headed and reckless he could be, and was only more determined to find him. To that end, she had asked her parents, friends, and even some favor-owing sponsors if they could find where the Arc family lived, so that she may ask them directly.

To her relief, she was able to find where they were and go visit them alongside her six friends during summer holidays. To her chagrin, however, they refused to tell the group where Jaune was. It only hurt her worse when his mother explained that it had been Jaune's own request to not tell them.

None of them could understand why he would cut himself off from them after promising he would keep in contact, and they could only assume there had to be some serious external circumstances for it.

Currently, the seven second-year students were on a mission to protect the trio of tunnels that led to an underground village on the upper areas of Anima, as the village had to send off their only guards to fetch goods for the village. This would leave them unprotected for a good few hours, but as the guards were the ones that knew the terrain best, they were the only ones with the skills to go.

However, even with the Beacon teams there, the fear and negative expectations of the villagers were more than strong enough to draw some powerful Grimm to them. The group of seven was more than good enough to deal with them, but having to be split into separate groups, fighting for almost four hours now, and having hardly any time to rest, left them all exhausted. Recognizing that any of them were liable to drop at any time, Ruby had contacted Beacon for extra help.

It seemed that one of their own would fall first.

Ren panted as he was pushed back by the Ursa he was fighting against. He knew very well that he was the fighter in the group with the least stamina, and as such, this extended fighting was taking a very heavy toll on him. He had been paired with Nora as per usual, but just as he had been planning break off for some time, the surge of Grimm had increased in a flash, making him have to fight on fumes.

He attempted to dodge a swipe by the deceptively fast bear Grimm, but was unable to get clear in time and received a slash to his ribs, making him cry out when his aura failed halfway through the slash and leaving him with a gash on his side. He was sent flying back, crashing into the side of the mountain where the tunnels were located, struggling to stay conscious. He just barely heard his childhood friend call out his name and approach him, kneeling by his side in worry. This only allowed him to blearily notice how beaten she seemed. Her reckless nature had made her the one to receive the most attacks, but now, even she was struggling to fight, a conundrum not helped by the size of her weapon.

He tried his best to summon his strength and warn her of the Ursa approaching behind her, but before he had the chance, a red javelin flew through the air and pierced through the creature's neck, its owner appearing soon after and ripping the javelin out of the Ursa.

Pyrrha fell to a knee after the strong movement, panting in exhaustion. She had been running back and forth between the three defense points without a rest, being the best technical fighter in the group and being the odd woman out. However, this left her running on just as many fumes as Ren, and yet, the Grimm horde did not seem intent on stopping.

She looked up as she heard two sets of lumbering footsteps, her half-lidded eyes registering the sight of a pair of Ursa Major, notable by their larger size, increased bone plating, and larger spinal spikes. She attempted to stand, but was only able to get halfway to her feet when a powerful tremble of her body sent her back to one knee, her vision dimming.

"Pyrrha!" Nora exclaimed, getting up to go help het. She was forced to bring her hammer up in order to deflect a deceptively rapid swipe from the first Ursa Major, but that gave the second one the chance to strike at her exposed flank, sending her flying back into Pyrrha. The pair crashed just next to Ren, who had already passed out.

"LVN!" Weiss screamed, now noticing their plight. This drew the attention of the other RWBY members, who found themselves unable to help due to dealing with their own enemies.

As a last ditch effort, Ruby attempted to snipe at least one of the Ursa Major, but found her shot blocked by the Beowolf she had neglected in her haste. With no other recourse, the foursome could only watch from the corners of their eyes as both Ursa Major raised their large paws to crush the team.

Just before they could, however, Blake's cat ears twitched as she heard the sound of rushing air, coming from... directly above them?

There was a powerful eruption as _something_ slammed directly on top of both Ursa Major, crushing them under its weight and momentum. A dust cloud kicked up from the impact, completely covering whatever had just dropped in as well as team LVN. Team RWBY stared in pure shock, almost allowing themselves to be attacked by their own enemies. Before they could get back to the battle, however, the sound of a revving, high-caliber weapon came from the cloud of dust and was followed by several huge bullets making giblets of their enemies.

Now finding themselves temporarily free of the threat, RWBY turned in order to see what or who had saved them. What came to view when the dust cloud dissipated, however, was not what they expected.

Standing protectively in front of LVN and the third tunnel entrance was a large robot, similar in appearance to the Atlesian Paladins that came from Weiss' home country. This one, however, was not as stocky, and seemed meant for equal parts attack and defense. It was colored in winter camouflage colors, with its hands and feet being made of an odd, black metal. Over its shoulder was what looked like a cannon, though even their weapons expert Ruby was unable to tell what kind of ordinance it fired.

The robot seemed to look around for a moment, noticing the advancing groups of Grimm in front of RWBY. It crouched, aiming the weapon in its hands, the design of which none of them had seen before. It was most definitely a rifle, however. After a short rev-up time, the robot let loose a barrage of the same high caliber bullets from earlier against the oncoming wave of Beowolves and Creeps, easily mowing them down.

Those still awake on both teams were still staring in shock at the newcomer, but Blake was able to notice a third Ursa Major lumbering up behind the robot. Before she could shout a warning, however, the robot stopped firing and turned, throwing out its left fist in a backhand that would've taken the creature's head clean off, had the Ursa's head not exploded just before its fist could make contact.

All those present in the clearing stared at the disappearing corpse of the Ursa. Their robotic companion then stood and looked towards a seemingly empty part of the clearing.

And to their utter surprise, it _spoke._

" _I had it,_ " it said, in a robotic but clearly female voice.

If the students hadn't been as surprised as they were, they would've sworn the voice sounded pouty.

"I know, but I couldn't let you have all the fun," a voice spoke, one the students couldn't pinpoint.

A part of the clearing that the robot was staring at suddenly shimmered, as if the sunlight was becoming stronger in the area, before a second newcomer appeared as if out of thin air. This one was a man, as noted by his voice, wearing standard military armor. Unlike the usual armor plating the students had become used to seeing on Atlesian soldiers, however, this one was wearing only the pants, while most of his armament was focused on his torso. His helmet was also different, covering his entire face. It had a glowing X-design as a visor, and didn't seem to impair him in the slightest if the headshot he pulled off earlier was any indication. On his lower back, they could see a sword, sheathed parallel to his waist, while just above it was a large, box-like mechanical contraption that none of them had seen before. He had guns on most of his body: a shotgun holstered on his right thigh, a bullpup rifle on his left, and two pistols holstered on each bicep; each was positioned in a way that was easy to reach, but would not get in the way of his range of motion. In his right hand was a long rifle, sniper-like by design, but more technologically advanced than they had ever seen. Finally, he had several smaller armaments around his body, such as grenades hanging off his vest, and what Ruby recognized as a grappling hook on his left forearm.

The man's helmet moved, looking back and forth, before asking, "What's the situation here?"

"We're supposed to be guarding these tunnels," Ruby spoke up, approaching the man slowly. "The guards of the village-."

"No, no," the man cut her off, waving his hand. "I already know that. I was briefed on the way. I mean your _physical_ situation. Exhaustion, I can already see. Injuries, casualties, ammunition?"

"Other than team LVN bring currently incapacitated," Weiss spoke up, waving her arm towards the trio behind the man's robotic partner, "No, nothing major."

The man stared at her, then looked over to the secondary team.

"Are you supposed to be our backup, then?" Blake asked, looking the soldier up and down.

"That I am," he responded, looking at her. "You can call me Argon, Atlas Special Titan Forces pilot."

"Atlas Special Titan Forces?" Weiss parroted. "I have never heard of such a branch."

"Just because you're a Schnee doesn't mean that you need to know all that the Atlas Military does," Argon shrugged. Before Weiss could argue that she didn't mean it in that manner, he continued, "Additionally, you're a student, and it's a pretty secretive program, so it's natural you wouldn't know." He looked towards his robotic companion. "And you've already met my Titan companion. You can call her Silva."

The robot raised a hand in greeting. " _Greetings. I am Atlas Titan SV-625, commonly referred to as Silva and partnered with STF Pilot-._ "

"Silva," Argon cut the Titan off sharply. "Remember the names we agreed on."

The Titan's body shifted, a glowing piece on its chest shifting in his direction like an eye. " _I still do not believe your idea is appropriate._ "

"Appropriate or not, we talked about this," Argon enforced, his tone of voice sounding somewhat angry. "Only refer to me as Argon or Pilot for this mission."

" _Very well, Pilot,_ " Silva responded, though they could hear its hesitant tone. It turned back to the forest around them. " _I am detecting incoming enemy signatures._ "

"Numbers?"

" _Twenty four, and increasing._ "

"Can you identify what type of enemies they are?"

" _Affirmative. Sizes and movements indicate a pack of Beowolves and Creeps._ "

"Hmm... Small fry, then," Argon concluded, looking up to the sky momentarily. When he looked back down, he spoke in a commanding tone, "Alright, we're going to have to maintain this outpost for at least another hour. I received a report on the way here that the village guards are already on their way back. Silva!" The Titan turned back to its pilot. "Initiate Defense Protocols. Lay trip mines on the left and right entrances, then defend the central entrance." As Silva followed the orders, Argon turned to team RWBY, who automatically snapped to attention. "I'm going to do my best to thin the oncoming horde. Ruby, Weiss, I'll have you two cover the left and right entrances, respectively, from the central entrance's sides. Take down any Grimm that gets past me." The pair nodded. "Blake, Yang, go pick up team LVN and bring them here. They can recover behind Silva. Once that's done, Blake, you look over them. Yang, you support me. Let's move!"

...

 **I think most can now tell what this one is crossed over with.**

 **I'll say this now, I don't plan to write the fight scene after this chapter, for two reasons: though I've watched all the cutscenes, I have yet to play Titanfall (1 and 2), so I don't have a clear sense of how Pilots fight, especially against enemies like Grimm and not other Pilots or infantry; secondly, and connected to the first point, no matter how hard I tried to focus on it, I can't create the image in my head of the fight, so I'd rather just leave it as is rather than rush out a half-decent, if that, fight scene.**

 **Also, Pinkpower3612: I have yet to play Black Ops 3, or any Black Ops for that matter, so I'd be unable to make a proper story crossover with that.**


	8. ASTF Pilot 3

**Thanks to those that have already sent me messages and reviews about the final point on my last chapter; I heavily appreciate it. However, I'm already planning to get Titanfall 2 by the end of the week, and as I mentioned to Axel 4-1 in a PM, I like to have physical experience with a game's physics whenever I do a story based on it, so I'll see how well I do on it.**

 **Note: this chapter takes place a week after the previous.**

* * *

"Team RWBY reporting in, Professor, Ozpin!"

"Team LVN reporting in as well, Professor."

The group of seven entered the headmaster's office in the best orderly fashion they could, having had to cramp themselves into the elevator in order to all fit in. The students had recovered well in the week since their mission to the underground village, with the only one showing any damage being Ren due to still having a wrap around his midsection.

"Ah, glad to see you have all made it in good time," Ozpin smiled, looking over the teams from behind his desk. To his right was his trusty deputy, while to the man's right was a man none of them but Weiss had met before.

"I believe some introductions are in order," Ozpin said lightly, waving his hand towards the unknown man. "Students, this is James Ironwood, general of Atlas' military and security forces, headmaster of Atlas Academy, and a trusted companion of mine."

The teams went through their own introductions to the man, who looked over them with a calm yet commanding gaze.

"Now, the reason I asked you seven to come here today is twofold," Ozpin continued after introductions were done. "Firstly, I wished to inform you personally that, as you two are the current best second-year students we have, your missions will start to become more complex in nature. To that end, James and I have been working with the councils of our respective countries to create joint missions. Unfortunately, with the increase in Grimm activity, there are times where we cannot afford or have the availability to send a Huntsman to a mission, but we also cannot afford to ignore the mission calls from villages in danger. So in order to better contain the Grimm, we shall be using the old rule of quality versus quantity.

"True Huntsmen are powerful in their own right, but as you all have proved in your missions, they can be matched in mission completion by a number of competent Huntsmen-in-training. As such, some of your missions from now on will include incursions into Atlas territory as well, and vice versa in regards to the Atlas students. You may sometimes be alone, but in most cases, you shall be paired with a Huntsman, another team of students, or Atlas military personnel."

The group was still wrapping their heads around the technical promotion, but it made them all swell in pride.

"Now, as for the second reason," Ozpin spoke up, turning to his male companion. "James, as you may have already guessed, these two teams are the ones that your Titan pilot 'Argon' had been sent to assist just last week."

"Yes, I recognized them as such upon spotting Miss Schnee and Miss Nikos," Ironwood responded with a light smile. "I'll have you know, Ozpin, that Jacques nearly bit my head off when he learned his heiress almost died."

"Yes, I have no doubt he did," Ozpin chuckled, while Weiss looked between the two in confusion. "Let me guess, he was angrier at the fact that a Schnee had to be helped by 'riff-raff', wasn't he?"

"Got it in one," Ironwood chuckled. "Though even he can't deny Argon's skills in combat, as well as the amazing progress he's made since just last year."

To the students' surprise, Goodrich seemed to be as in the dark about this conversation as they were.

"Where is he, by the way?" Ozpin asked. "I thought he would have been here by now."

To the surprise of Glynda and the students, especially the former, Ironwood outright laughed at that. "Ah, don't even think about that. The boy's incorrigible with time, even if this is his second chance. Some habits die hard, I say, just like Qrow's alcoholism."

"And it doesn't irk you?"

"If I hadn't seen his determination when I tested him, it would have. Plus, when it's needed, he will arrive long before he's called. And honestly, his whimsical manner of living is a much-needed levity in my military. He's been able to befriend many of the soldiers, and when combined with his natural tactical abilities on the battlefield, this makes him someone that my soldiers respect and follow unconditionally, and someone that can turn the emotional tide of battle upon arrival. Just the kind of person you told me he could be, and just what we need."

The students stared at the man in minor surprise, but they were nothing compared to Glynda, who was outright open-mouthed at Ironwood's words.

"When you say he managed to befriend many of the soldiers..." Ozpin spoke, leaving the question in the air.

"I'll give you an example," Ironwood smirked, as if he knew an inside joke no one else did. "Within two weeks of him finishing most of his training, I walked in on him and Winter in the mess hall, talking and _laughing_ like they were old friends."

"Winter?" both Ozpin and Weiss spoke up at that, with Ozpin continuing. "Cold, calculating Specialist Winter Schnee?"

"The very same," Ironwood nodded. "I tell you, Oz, it had been a long time since I last heard Winter laugh at all. It was a very welcoming sight; I'm sure you know how stressful a Specialist's job can be."

"I do. That is why I'm so surprised," Ozpin mused.

The sound of a ding brought everyone's attention to the rooms elevator, where the floor counter could be seen rising.

"Ah, I suppose he's arrived," Ozpin smiled.

Everyone waited with bated breath until the elevator dinged once again as it reached the floor, and the doors opened. Inside, leaning against the wall, was the very same soldier teams RWBY and LVN had fought with a week ago, though he was wearing different armor today. He still wore the same pants, but he had a short-sleeved shirt underneath his torso armor this time, and his loadout seemed lighter. The only reasons the teams recognized him were his weapons, which he carried with him in the same places he had the week before, and his helmet, which hadn't changed.

The man looked up as he walked out of the elevator, hesitating momentarily when he spotted the two teams of Huntsmen-in-training. Giving the teams a nod and ignoring Ruby's eyes shining over his weaponry and Weiss' curious looks towards him, he stood to their left and saluted.

"ASTF Pilot Argon reporting in, General Ironwood," he spoke.

"At ease, Pilot," Ironwood commanded, watching as the pilot relaxed. "Took you long enough to arrive."

"Silva wanted to look at some pretty birds," Argon shrugged.

" _That is untrue_ ," a robotic, female voice spoke up from Argon's left wrist.

Ironwood smirked. "Well, glad you could finally make it. I believe you're well-acquainted with teams RWBY and LVN."

Argon's helmet shifted as he looked at the two teams. "Yes, I am. They deserve a good commendation; they fought admirably last week."

The team felt a little more proud at the Titan pilot's words, but to their surprise, Ironwood sighed in what sounded like disappointment.

"Argon…" the general spoke up in a low voice, his gaze concerned. "How much longer are you going to keep up this charade?"

Argon looked back towards the general, the rest of the room being unable to tell what he was thinking due to his helmet.

"Is _that_ why you asked me to come, General?" the pilot suddenly spoke up, his tone a mix between angry ad exasperated. "I thought we'd already talked about this."

"Yes, we did, and if you remember, I thought your idea was foolish from the start," Ironwood responded. "And I believe I am not the only one."

" _I have already stated my concerns to him, General Ironwood_ ," Silva spoke up, " _But he refuses to listen._ "

Argon said nothing.

"You were right, Ozpin," Ironwood sighed. "He's nothing if not hard-headed and stubborn."

"Why?" Argon spoke up before Ozpin could respond. "Why do you want so badly for me to do this?"

The students and Glynda only watched the unfolding drama with bated breath. This sounded like an argument that had been going on long before this point.

"Because I can see how much it pains you, Argon," Ironwood continued, walking up to the soldier and placing a hand on his shoulder. "That should be more than enough reason, but I know that you're very stubborn and willing to carry such a self-made burden. But remember that you are not the only one you're hurting with your isolationism from them. Ozpin has told me the lengths they've gone to, and I can confidently state that they deserve some answers."

"I never approved of your idea, Argon," Ozpin spoke up, his hands clasped in front of him. "However, I knew that would not simply stop you. This was something you needed to see for yourself."

Argon remained quiet. Then, he chuckled. "With all that, you might as well have already told them my identity."

This drew ripples of confusion from the audience, but one young man couldn't contain his low gasp as he finally realized where they were going with this.

"Ren?" Nora spoke up as the quiet boy walked past her and up to the pilot and general, the latter of whom stepped back with a small smile.

Argon looked over at the approaching Ren, his stance giving away nothing. The same could not be said for Ren, however. The quiet young man's breathing had become a little labored, and his eyes widened as he approached further.

Then, he spoke only one word, a question that silenced everyone else.

"… Jaune?"

Argon didn't move or react in the slightest, and neither did Ironwood and Ozpin, but everyone else was a different story. Then, he sighed, the action hiding a small chuckle. He reached over and pressed a button on his left wrist, and his helmet hissed as it performed a small decompression, then began to retract piece by piece. **(a la Dead Space)**

"I suppose I could never really hide from your eyes…"

With every inch that was revealed as the helmet disappeared into the man's armor, his audience's eyes widened further and further as they processed everything; from the familiar, if slightly shorter, blonde hair; to the sunken eyes that still glowed a vibrant blue; to the ever-present smirk on his face.

"Could I, Ren?"

" **Jaune!** "

"Oof!"

Jaune was just barely able to prepare himself before two missiles of red and orange crashed into him, sending him flying back and onto his back.

"You're back!" Ruby squealed happily, burying her face into his left shoulder as she hugged him as best she could.

"Our fearless leader returned!" Nora crowed as she did the same with his other side.

Everyone else was still too shocked to move much, but while this was going on, Glynda turned to her two companions.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked coldly.

Ironwood, for once, returned her look with one that was just as cold, internally surprising the stern teacher. "The meaning is simple. This is merely giving a young man a chance to be something great."

"And _why_ was I not informed of this?" she asked, turning to Ozpin this time.

The headmaster merely smiled placidly. "Answer me this: would you have approved?"

"Of course not-!"

"Then there you have it," Ironwood cut her off. "That's why you were not informed."

Glynda looked between the two of them in bewilderment.

"Glynda, you know I appreciate you _very_ much," Ozpin sighed. "However, you have an unfortunate tendency to not be able to look past the statistics of a person. That is something I very much appreciate for your position, but there are certain cases…" He looked over to where Jaune was just beginning to stand, carrying the two short Huntresses-in-training as he did. "… where statistics can only go so far."

Glynda looked over the student reunion, an unfocused and thoughtful look in her eyes as she processed her superior's words.

Jaune, meanwhile, struggled to get himself free of the death trap that had become Ruby and Nora's grips, but was finding himself unsuccessful in that regard. Nora, thankfully, let go once Ren asked her to, yet Ruby would simply not let him go.

As he tried wriggling out of the reaper's arms, a flash of bronze drew his eyes to his right. Said eyes widened when they processed Pyrrha standing just next to him, gazing at him with unreadable eyes.

"Um… Hey, Pyrrha," the blonde greeted her with a shaky wave.

The poor young man hardly had a chance to react before his armor seemed to be pulled forward slightly, his right cheek coming in loud contact with Pyrrha's flying left hand.

"You… idiot…" Pyrrha said in a shaky tone as Jaune rubbed his face. "What do you have to say for yourself…?"

"Erm…" Jaune stared at her for a moment, then glanced at the bundle of red still gripping his neck. Shrugging lightly, he opened his arms and simply asked, "… Can I have a hug?"

Everyone else stared at Jaune in astonishment, but to their surprise, Pyrrha let out a sound that could have been either a laugh or a sob and jumped forward, grabbing Jaune in a tight hug as she lay her chin on his unoccupied right shoulder.

"I missed you… so, _so_ much…" she murmured.

"I missed you too, Pyrrha," Jaune responded. "I missed all of you, and I'm so sorry."

"As well you should be!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she pulled away, though not enough to break their hug. "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was about you?"

"How worried _we_ were, you mean?" Ruby asked as she finally pulled back from choking his neck, though her legs remained firmly wrapped around his waist. "You jerk! You… You're a jerk, you know that?"

Jaune stared at her for a moment, then laughed and used his left arm to grab Ruby in a one-armed hug, making her squeak. "Yeah, so I've been told, Crater Face."

"Hey! I grew past that nickname a long time ago!" Ruby protested, though the large grin on her face said that she didn't mind it in the slightest.

"Not to me, you haven't," Jaune responded back cheekily.

As Ruby finally freed him, and Pyrrha stepped back from his embrace, the sound of cracking knuckles drew his attention. Looking over to the source, he raised an eyebrow and jerked back as a golden gauntlet flew through the space his head had been occupying a moment ago.

"Sit still, Vomit Boy. You deserve a punch or three of greetings," Yang crowed, her smirk belaying her true intentions.

"Yeah, no thanks, I'll pass" Jaune responded. "I like my head where it is, thank you very much."

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, placing herself in between the two blondes, though as her head only reached the top of his chest, it didn't do much for protecting him. "I told you that you were not to punch Jaune when you saw him again!"

"Oh, come on, Rubes," Yang groaned. "You know what I do to people that make you cry."

"Yeah, I do," Ruby responded. "That's why I'm telling you not to do it." The red reaper turned her head to look Jaune in the eye. "I'll be doing it myself instead."

Jaune raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Yang clapped her hands together and laughed giddily. "My baby sister's growing up!" the female blonde exclaimed.

"Mind if I join you for that?" Pyrrha asked, raising her hand as if she were in class while looking Jaune up and down. "Our _fearless leader_ here has much to answer for."

Jaune looked left and right, being caught between Ruby's cocky smirk, Yang's predatory grin, and Pyrrha's almost _coy_ look.

Then, he sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

"You know," he mused, "Now that I'm not surrounded by it all the time, I can confidently say… that you are some _very_ violent girls."

The trio of girls in front of him laughed along with him. As the laughter tapered off, however, Jaune became aware of a piercing gaze being sent his way. Turning, he locked eyes with Weiss, who had been staring at him in confusion since he had removed his helmet.

The two stared at each other, with the others in the room watching the standoff with bated breath. Weiss had been the one to be the most outspoken in their group about Jaune's departure, but not in a good way. She claimed that she had always known he didn't belong in Beacon and that he was destined to be a failure if faked transcripts were something he was willing to do, and it hadn't been until a crying Ruby had outright _slapped_ her in anger that she came to realize none of them shared her view on it.

In the red reaper's words, _"Just because you're too much of a_ bitch _to see what a person's worth through their character and actions doesn't mean we all are, Weiss."_

The literal slap to the face and her team leader's uncharacteristic (to her) outburst and outright cursing had quieted the albino girl, not the least because it had reminded her of her own past… and made her realize the way she had been looking down on Jaune, while he wasn't there no less, was the very same kind of outlook that she despised when it came from her father and the other high-class people from Atlas.

It had taken some time for the rift between the two to mend, helped along by Blake and Yang, but eventually, Weiss was able to look past it, balancing the negatives of Jaune's numbers (not to mention the minor annoyance he was when trying to hit on her in the beginning) with the positives that Ruby, Pyrrha, and the others spoke of, such as his compassion for others, his determination to protect everyone, and his tactical and strategic abilities on the battlefield.

Now, she had a new point to add to her list: if the banter between the headmasters of Atlas and Beacon were to be believed, this blonde young man had been able to thaw the ice around her sister's soul and become friends with her, a fact that already proved his outstanding people skills.

"I think someone's got a cruuuuush~!"

Weiss' face heated up significantly at Yang's teasing words, while Jaune looked away and chuckled.

"What?! That's preposterous!" the albino heiress exclaimed, turning to the smirking blonde and not missing the smile on Pyrrha's face as well as the giggles coming from Ruby.

"Oh yeah, Weiss queen?" Yang retorted good-naturedly. "With how hard you were staring at him, I would have believed otherwise."

As Weiss struggled to think of a good retort, Blake suddenly spoke up. "You know, I read once that staring at someone without blinking for at least seven seconds usually denotes a desire for either sex or murder."

As everyone turned towards the bookworm in bewilderment at this random fact, the Faunus smirked. "I counted ten."

Ruby, Yang, Pyrrha, and Nora burst into laughter at this, while both Jaune and Weiss reddened, the heiress' blush surpassing the blonde's by a mile, as Jaune was split on whether she wanted to bed him or kill him and which one he would be able to better deal with.

…


	9. ASTF Pilot 4

"Everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!"

Peter Port's words rang out over the large landing pad, reaching the distressed civilians attempting to follow his orders and get into the Atlesian ships.

One Weiss Schnee was indifferent to it. Her sight was filled with more pressing matters, namely the dismemberment of one of her teammates and the heavy internal injury of the other, as well as the injured Nora and Ren.

Running steps behind her made her turn.

"Ruby!"

"Oh, I'm so glad I found you," Ruby panted, exhausted from the constant fighting she had needed to do in the last two hours or so.

"Ruby, how did-?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine! How is everyone else?"

Weiss' silence was answer enough.

"Weiss?"

The albino girl moved aside, allowing her team leader to see the scene behind her. Ruby's eyes widened in shock, her sight pinned at the point where Yang's arm ended in bloody bandages.

"Yang…" she murmured, walking forward and kneeling by her sister, her mind's eye taken up by the image alone.

"I'm sorry," Blake repeated, holding one hand over her bandaged sternum wound and the other wrapping around the unconscious Yang's remaining hand. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey…"

Ruby looked up as Sun Wukong approached them, his face lacking any of the usual mirth that the young Faunus was typically bursting with.

"There's a ship ready to take you guys back to Vale. She's going to be fine, Ruby."

"We can't leave yet," Nora insisted, attempting to stand but falling onto her hands and knees as her internal injuries throbbed painfully. "Pyrrha's still back there!"

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Guys!" Sun insisted. "We have to pull back! That dragon Grimm is still flying around the school, spawning all sorts of Grimm-!"

The blonde Faunus' words were interrupted by the sound of a crash several meters away. Together, they all turned, looking for the source of the commotion.

To their utter surprise, at the other end of the path that led to the large helipad, a pair of Atlesian Paladins stood, their sights clearly pinned on the helipad and its inhabitants.

"What the heck?! I thought those were all offline!" Sun exclaimed in anger.

"They were! I made sure to check with the other students about it!" Weiss responded, reaching for Myrtenaster.

"They must be being controlled manually," Ruby reasons, reaching for her own weapon.

"No, leave them to us!" the voice of Oobleck interrupted her as he and Port ran over and stood protectively in front of the students. "We shall handle them!"

"You can't! You'll-!"

Whatever Weiss was about to say was cut off as the pair of Paladins began running towards them, their strides covering land quickly and tossing aside any Grimm that were nearby and attempted to attack them. Port and Oobleck tensed, preparing themselves to charge the pair of Paladins and stop them halfway.

To their surprise, however, one of the Paladins suddenly stopped and turned, and a moment later, the reason why became known as another large robot dashed into its path, sending it flying back from the force.

"It's Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed, recognizing the winter-camo style of Jaune's Titan companion Silva.

Silva turned and caught a blow from the second Paladin into her hand, stopping it outright. She used her leverage to turn herself around the enemy Paladin, placing herself directly in between the pair of enemy robots and the helipad, then used her other fist to punch the Paladin directly on the cockpit, sending it flying back to its partner, which was just starting to stand.

"Hey!" a voice called out from the trees next to them, revealing itself to be Jaune's as the pilot dashed out from the trees, landing just in front of the teachers. "Glad I made it in time."

"And just where have you been?" Weiss demanded, striding up to the blonde with a fierce look in her eyes.

Said look was replaced with a pained one as Jaune looked back towards her and reached out his hand, flicking her on the forehead and making her step back. "Fighting, what's it look like?" he responded dully, waving his hand over his body and Silva's. Now that she focused on him, she could see that his armor was a little tattered and dinged, his helmet had several furrows on it, and he had a few scars from deep cuts that had likely just been healed by his aura. "Why do you think that you and the other students only faced three Paladins? Do you have any idea how many of those were in Vale and Beacon at the time?" Weiss didn't respond. "Twenty. Twenty Atlesian Paladins, all of them having gone rogue. It was pandemonium down there."

"Wait, so you saw us fight those three giant mechs?!" Sun exclaimed, pointing a finger at Jaune.

"Yeah, I did, but only the last few minutes. I had confidence you guys could handle them," Jaune responded, turning back to Weiss with a more comforting look on his face. It was a look that Weiss recognized, but only because of how little she had seen it before coming to Beacon.

A look of pride in someone else's abilities.

"Well done, Weiss. I have to say, I'm impressed with your abilities and how you handled yourself."

Weiss spluttered as her face was suffused with redness, eventually resigning to turning away from him and crossing her arms. "W-W-Who said I was looking for your approval, you idiot?!"

Jaune chuckled, though it was short-lived. He turned to survey the rest of the students, noticing that one was missing.

"Where's Pyrrha?"

"She's still at the school," Ren responded, wincing in pain as his ribs protested his attempt to stand. "We haven't been able to contact her, but we saw her run back into Beacon with Professor Ozpin."

Jaune grit his teeth, looking back towards the towers of Beacon Academy. Turning to the pair of professors, who were watching the standoff between the pair of enemy Paladins and Silva, he said, "Professors, you two need to help finish evacuation. Leave these two to me."

"I am sorry, young man, but I have my doubts that you could handle two Paladins on your own," Oobleck spoke up, though Port only looked at the Pilot in scrutiny, as if recognizing something.

Jaune chuckled, making the two teachers raise an eyebrow each. "Don't worry, professors… This is what I live for."

And with those words, the young man ran forward towards his Titan, which turned towards him and placed an open-palmed hand in front of itself. The front of the Titan opened up, showing a cockpit where the pilot could sit comfortably. Said pilot jumped, his jump pack allowing him to cover the distance easily, landed on the hand, and used it as a springboard towards the cockpit, twisting in midair to land perfectly on the seat.

Jaune had barely gotten his butt on the seat when the Titan closed its cockpit, turning back to the enemy Paladins. And with its movement, a single sentence was said by it, resounding all around them.

" _Controls transferred to Pilot!_ "

The pair of hijacked Paladins charged, aiming to outnumber and quickly beat down this new opponent. The one on the left found its path blocked by a tripwire mine that had been laid down in Silva's first attack, which exploded and sent it off its path and into a tree. The second one continued its dash for the Titan, which met it head on.

To the bystanders, it was like watching, and _feeling_ , two giants clashing. The Paladin and Titan clashed cockpit to cockpit, causing the ground around them to tremble. The Paladin reared its right fist back, but Silva dashed sideways, dodging the punch by a hair's breadth and retaliating with its own right hook to the shoulder, which staggered the Paladin enough for Silva, or Argon as it were, to commence a combo, striking its cockpit with Silva's left fist, then dashing directly into it, giving it a powerful shoulder tackle that sent it flying back.

The sound of ricocheting metal came from behind Silva, the source being the bullet striking Silva's overshield from the first Paladin. Argon quickly turned Silva around, reaching behind him for the large machine gun on his back. He opened fire on the Paladin, returning the barrage tenfold and causing severe damage on his enemy.

"Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed, watching as the earlier Paladin stood up and aimed a cluster of rockets in Silva's direction.

Just as the rockets were fired, however, Silva's upper body twisted to face the second Paladin, and it raised its left hand, facing the oncoming missiles. To the bystanders' astonishment, a field of pure white, twisting energy erupted from the Titan's raised hand, stopping the missiles in their tracks and turning them in midair. The second Paladin raised its arms in front of its face, expecting the volley to be returned to it, but instead, Silva turned, aiming and releasing the hijacked rockets at the first, downed Paladin. Each one struck with the force of several Dust rounds, eventually causing the Paladin to erupt in flames, quickly taking it out of commission and killing whomever was inside.

Before the second Paladin could regain its bearings, Silva had already covered the distance with a dash, its hands to grabbing the Paladin's 'wrists'. Using pure force, it pulled them apart, leaving the Paladin wide open.

This time, Ruby learned what the cannon peeking over the Titan's left shoulder was for. It aimed itself towards the Paladin's left arm and, after a short wind-up time, shot a pure red laser that sliced through and made short work of the Paladin's shoulder. With a powerful yank, Silva promptly ripped off the Paladin's left arm, then went further and used it as a bludgeon against its owner, tripping the Paladin with a sweep to its legs and then beating it over its torso until the arm broke.

Silence reigned in the helipad after the display of brute force, the silence being broken by the sound of Silva stepping away from the destroyed Paladin. Before anyone could say anything, Silva promptly turned and began to run as fast as it could towards the school, barreling through the remains of the first Paladin on its way.

"Where is he _going_?!" Sun asked, still gobsmacked by the battle that had just happened.

"Probably after Pyrrha," Weiss surmised. "He did ask where she was, after all."

"I'll go after him," Ruby said, standing up and striding over to the entrance to the helipad. "I'll make sure to bring them both back."

"No," Weiss spoke up, drawing Ruby's attention. " _We_ will go after them." She turned back to Nora, Ren, and Sun. "Watch after Blake and Yang for us. We'll be back."

…


	10. ASTF Pilot 5

"There's Jaune and Silva!" Ruby exclaimed, noticing the Pilot and Titan fighting off several Grimm around them, with Jaune using impressive parkour skills and his trusty weapons to make short work of any regular Grimm, while Silva dealt with the bigger enemies like Ursae and Griffons and cleared a path for them.

"Jaune!" Weiss yelled out, drawing his attention.

"Hey!" he responded, ducking under a Beowolf's swipe and taking its head off with a shot from his shotgun. "What are you two doing here?!"

"What do you think, you idiot?! Did you think we were going to just let you come here on your own?!" Weiss asked as she and Ruby approached, taking care of any errant Grimm the pair left behind.

"Would you be – ugh – surprised if I said yes?" Jaune responded, having to stop mid-sentence to slice a Creep in half with a jump pack-boosted slice from his sword.

"Honestly, no, I wouldn't be!"

"Jaune, where's Pyrrha?" Ruby asked.

In response, Jaune pointed up, drawing the attention of the girls to the top of Beacon Tower, where Ozpin's office used to sit. The place was now destroyed, with the Grimm Dragon having taken refuge on one side of the top and watching over something. Even from their distance, the trio could see the flashes of fire and moving pieces of the clock tower, denoting a battle taking place.

"One of those is Pyrrha; Silva recognized her aural signature," Jaune summed up. "She must be fighting the woman that's behind this whole thing… that idiot."

"Then we have to get up there! Now!" Ruby exclaimed.

Weiss looked around for a moment, her eyes landing on the side of Beacon Tower. After taking a deep breath, she summoned her aura and displaced a glyph towards the wall, where it multiplied upwards and created a path for Ruby to take.

"You can do this," she said to her partner, who nodded in thanks, smirked, and ran forward. "Now, it's up to us two to-."

"Nope," Jaune responded.

Startled, she watched as Silva approached the two of them and lowered her hand, whereupon Jaune jumped on it and knelt.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked in bewilderment.

"You really think I'm going to let Ruby do this on her own?" he asked back rhetorically. "Pyrrha was _my_ partner. No way am I leaving without giving her a good earful about the stupidity of what she's doing. Silva!"

" _Yes, Pilot?_ "

"Update Protocol Three."

" _Protocol Three: Protect the Pilot. Update?_ "

"Protect Weiss Schnee for the duration of this mission!"

Weiss eyes widened as Silva responded, " _Update received and confirmed. Weiss Schnee: priority Defensive Protocols engaged._ "

"See you later, Weiss," Jaune said, looking at her and giving her a wink.

Then, to her utter astonishment, Silva held her free arm out, seeming to be calculating something; gave Jaune a single look; then promptly _threw_ him like a ball straight upwards.

Weiss could only stare for a moment, her mouth open. She then looked down, took a deep breath, and muttered, "That… idiot…"

* * *

Jaune braced himself, the winds whipping his face. His helmet had fallen off during the battle to get back to Beacon, leaving him to rely on his instincts and training in order to continue fighting.

It took only a few more moments before he cleared the distance of Beacon Tower, just as gravity began to exert itself onto his body. Looking down, his blood boiled at the scene below him, his mind barely registering the fact that Ruby had reached the top at the same time he did.

The battle was over. Pyrrha was kneeling on the floor of Ozpin's office, barely awake. The woman responsible for this catastrophe was standing just in front of her...

A bow in her hand, and an arrow pointed directly at the Spartan's torso.

"Pyrrha!"

While Ruby was too surprised to move, Jaune was not. With Pyrrha's name flying from his throat, the young man activated his jump pack, sending himself flying towards the two.

It was for naught.

Jaune's eyes widened as the arrow was released.

Pyrrha jerked as the arrow stabbed into her chest, letting out a choked scream.

Ruby remained stock still, her eyes wide and refusing to believe what she was seeing.

A strangled exclamation fell from Jaune's lips as he crashed feet-first into the woman, sending her flying away from Pyrrha. Without preamble, he stood, his sight tinted red as he rushed the woman. Before she could recover from his charge, Jaune pulled both his shotgun and sniper rifle out, taking one in each hand and firing them point blank against the woman's torso, sending her crashing into a pile of clock gears.

A roar from next to him made him pull back. Turning, his eyes widened as they met the large, yellow irises of the Grimm Dragon, which looked at him in anger. It opened its mouth, intent on snapping him up.

"Shit," Jaune cursed, trying to jump back and away from the giant mouth.

Before it could grab him, however, the Dragon suddenly jerked as something impacted against its side, sending it flying off and away from the tower temporarily. Jaune sighed as he recognized the much more powerful laser beam that came from Silva's Dust core. She must have realized his distress due to his rapid heartbeat and aimed to assist.

Sending the Titan a mental thanks, he turned and rushed back to Pyrrha's side. The girl was still struggling to breathe, her hands clutching at her chest and her eyes wide but clouding over as she looked at Jaune.

"No, no, no! Stay with me, Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed, placing one hand on her back to support her and another on the arrow's body. Gritting his teeth as he examined the arrow, he looked at the fading girl and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Then, grabbing the tip of the arrow protruding from Pyrrha's back and the body of the arrow sticking out from the front, he grunted as he pushed his right hand down, snapping the body of the arrow oddly easily. Before the girl could react, he pulled out the remaining half of the arrow out of Pyrrha's body as smoothly and quickly as he could, the girl letting out a whimper at the momentary pain.

Then, with no other recourse and out of ideas, Jaune pressed his left hand against the hole on her back and his right one against the front, and pulsed his aura. And in his mind, he quickly began to chant in his mind the last hope he held onto.

 _'For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I empower your soul, and by my sword, protect thee!'_

A flash of pure light erupted from between Jaune's palms and into the arrow hole in Pyrrha's chest, it's colour shifting to blood red as Pyrrha's aura reactivated from the 'jump start'. The wound began to close, stitching together little by little.

Jaune barely registered the sound of rushing air behind him.

Turning quickly, he was just about to raise his hand and use the remains of his aura to create a barrier in front of him before a blast of concentrated flame crashed into it, sending him and Pyrrha flying off the side of the tower with a naught but an echoing yell from Jaune left in the air.

"Jaune! Pyrrha! **No!** "

...

 **I've got one more chapter I want to put out of this story fragment before I move to pastures new.**


	11. ASTF Pilot Final

**This is my last chapter for this story idea, and it's just one path the ending can take.**

* * *

The doors banged open as Jaune stepped into the room, lacking his usual armor and wearing purely a black shirt, pants, and boots. He strode over to where he knew his target was, a bed near the end of the private infirmary, where four people were gathered around a fifth.

"How is she, doc?" he asked as he approached the bed, drawing the attention of the others.

The doctor sighed, looking at the blonde. "She's stable. Your work in sealing the wound with aura was well done for being something done on the field."

Jaune's frown didn't change. "There's a 'but' here, isn't it? Don't bullshit me, doc."

The doctor sighed once again. "You're correct." She stood to her full height, looking Jaune in the eye. "Pyrrha Nikos is currently in a coma. We have no idea when she will awaken, and she is not responding to any of our immediate stimuli."

Jaune's eyes widened at he was given the diagnosis. Swallowing loudly, he nodded in thanks at the doctor, who nodded in return and excused herself, leaving him with the three other people there.

One of them approached him, a woman that looked to be in her forties, with hair the color of wine and wearing a simple, muted yellow dress. "You're Jaune Arc, aren't you?"

Jaune looked at her with somewhat blank eyes, nodding.

"Yes… Blonde hair, blue eyes, somewhat lanky… it's him," the man behind her nodded. Jaune could see the man was a warrior, focused in speed above all else if his light build was any indication. He had sandy colored hair and green eyes, which combined with his light beard to give him a handsome appearance.

Jaune started when the woman in front of him grabbed his hands, looking at him with shining eyes. "Thank you… so much for saving our daughter."

Jaune stared blankly at her, then nodded, looking down at their conjoined hands. "There was… no way I'd let her die. She's my partner."

It was a simple declaration, but the Nikos understood the powerful sentiment behind it. "We appreciate it very much," Pyrrha's father said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We were always worried about her, even more so when she decided to come to Beacon. We knew we couldn't stop her, but we warned her to be careful. But after all she told us of you, and how you made her feel, we knew she would be fine."

Jaune looked at him in askance.

"She never told you?" Pyrrha's mother asked.

"Told me what?"

The man and woman looked at each other, then back to him.

"Pyrrha's always been… very lonely since she began to train." Pyrrha's father explained. "Due to her quickly rising fame, she lost many of her childhood friends, and hardly made any afterwards. We tried to give her as much companionship as we could, but we knew it wasn't enough for her, and we couldn't be there for her forever."

Pyrrha's mother looked back towards her comatose daughter, the tears that were pooling in her eyes finally falling. "She told us she had the same fear when she came to Beacon, but upon meeting and partnering up with you, she was able to relax and be herself. You, who had no idea who she was, were able to make a friendship with Pyrrha that she hadn't had for years. And for that, we are indebted to you."

"No," Jaune responded sharply, surprising them. "Don't say that. You have no debt to me." He looked at Pyrrha, his mind whirring as he looked at her calm face. "Your daughter gave to me as much as she says I gave to her. She gave me a stalwart friend and comrade, someone I could count on no matter what, and someone that I could trust unconditionally." Jaune looked back at Pyrrha's parents, smiling sardonically. "Funnily enough, we're not all that different in that regard. When I was younger, it was just as difficult for me to make any lasting friendships, but for the opposite reason of Pyrrha. I was always too weak, and in the city my family lived in, strength was the most revered trait of any person, and it was always the one thing I truly lacked. I hoped to change that when coming to Beacon, and I'll be eternally grateful to Pyrrha for giving me that."

Jaune squared his shoulders, turning around and walking to the door. "I have to get back. I have to meet with General Ironwood. But believe me…"

At the door, he turned back to the Nikos family, the little girl sitting on her big sister's bedside now looking at him as well.

"I'll _never_ give up on your daughter. That's a promise. And an Arc never breaks his promises."

* * *

Jaune sighed as he opened the door to the small apartment that served as his temporary base while the Vale evacuations finished up. He had been running ragged between many points, serving as a powerful defense against the many Grimm that were coming from the forests around them.

Being attracted by that frozen Dragon Grimm.

He was still partially shocked about the knowledge that his friend Ruby was the one to have done such a thing, apparently due to some hidden power of hers based on her eyes, something he learned from the person that had brought her back, her uncle Qrow Branwen. She had believed him and Pyrrha dead when they had been thrown off the top of the tower, and the despair she felt at that belief, combined with the stress she had been facing since the Grimm and White Fang invasion had begun, had triggered her ability. It had overpowered her, though, and knocked her out in the process. She would have likely died had Qrow not arrived there in time.

" _Jaune, are you alright?_ "

Jaune started as he heard Silva's voice come from his wrist.

"Yeah, Silva, I'm alright," he assured her. "Just thinking…"

" _I understand that your comrade Pyrrha Nikos is currently in an indefinite coma._ "

"Yeah, she is. She'll wake up, though. I know she will."

Silva remained silent as Jaune went to the kitchen and prepared himself a glass of orange juice to drink up. Before he could grab it, however, he heard the sound of minor alarms coming from his wrist communicator.

"Silva?" he asked, closing the refrigerator. "What's the matter?"

" _Distress alert. Priority Defense Target: Weiss Schnee. Detecting rapid heartbeats._ "

"What?!" Jaune was quick to head to his room, where his battle gear was stored. "Can you see if she's fighting?"

" _Negative. No Grimm signals detected. Detecting Atlas Military security personnel nearby… They are doing nothing._ "

"Damnit… Silva, go on ahead and see what the problem is," he commanded the Titan as he began to put on his light loadout. "I'll catch up."

" _Understood_."

As Silva began to run in Weiss' direction, she sent the coordinates to Jaune's helmet.

"I completely forgot I'd left her in Protocol 3," Jaune muttered, putting on his boots and activating his helmet, which quickly closed around his head. "Glad I did."

Walking over to the window, he opened it and knelt onto the ledge, timing his jump carefully. As his jump pack activated, he jumped, clearing the distance between his building and the next easily. He continued running, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, following Silva's coordinates.

It took several minutes, but he finally arrived at the helipads near the edge of Vale, where he could see several Bullheads and cargo ships sitting. One in particular caught his attention.

The stylized snowflake on the side was hard to miss.

He was able to easily spot Silva. His Titan companion was near the SDC ship, standing protectively in front of a girl he recognized as Weiss. In front of Silva, attempting to stand threateningly against the much larger robot, was a white-haired man he easily recognized and despised with a passion.

Frowning, he walked towards them, catching the tail end of what the man was saying.

"- told you to stand aside!"

" _Voice command not recognized._ "

"You're not going to recognize anything if you continue to prevent me from taking my daughter."

Two Atlesian soldiers were behind the man, spotting Jaune easily. They raised their hands in salute, but said hands went to their weapons when he gave no indication he saw them and reached for his upper right bicep.

"Would you move already, you piece of junk-?!"

"You've got some real balls threatening my Titan, _Jacques_."

Jacques Schnee froze. Not from the voice, but from the click and the feel of the gun currently placed against his temple. He attempted to turn to his attacker, but the rough shove from the gun barrel made him think better.

"Not another move, unless you think yourself as thick-skulled as everyone else does and think you can withstand a Lightning Dust round straight to the brain," Argon said, almost conversationally.

" _Argon_ …" Jacques spat out the title hatefully. "How _dare_ you hold a gun up to me? I'll have you executed for this."

"You will try," Argon responded. "And just like the last three times, you'll fail."

"Tell your piece of scrap metal to step aside. Now."

Argon smiled under his helmet. "I will… if you can give me a good reason as to why you want me to do it."

"I am here to get my daughter back to Atlas-."

"Ah, then no," Argon cut him off. "Silva's staying right where she is."

"You insubordinate fool," Jacques growled. "What right do you have to interfere in familial matters?"

"Familial? Typically, I'd say none, but…" Argon looked up to Silva, his pistol never leaving Jacques' temple. "Silva, play back the scene you witnessed upon arriving."

" _Replaying_."

In between them, a hologram appeared, displaying pure white visions of Jacques and Weiss. The girl stood awkwardly as her father ranted on and on, and when she attempted to get a word in edgewise, the man cut her off, waving his hands dangerously close to her face. Finally, Weiss attempted to turn away, but Jacques reached out and grabbed her bicep. He attempted to force her into the ship, but before he could, both white silhouettes looked up, and Jacques released Weiss and jumped back.

"When you try and force my friend to do your bidding," Argon spoke, anger in his tone, "I've got a problem."

"She is _my_ daughter," Jacques repeated. "And because of that, she will do as I say!"

" _Weiss_ ," Argon responded, "is also a fully qualified Huntress-in-training under Beacon's tutelage. And you know _very well_ what that means."

Jacques didn't respond.

"By Valean law, she is considered a fully-matured adult, given most rights that Huntsmen and Huntresses have. You have no right to demand anything of her."

"She is the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and I will not see it fall because she decided to be a defiant little ingrate!"

"Is that all she is to you? Is that all _Winter_ was to you?" Argon muttered to him. He continued before Jacques could respond. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. What matters is what you're going to do next."

"I will not be going anywhere," Jacques said defiantly.

"Then you'll die," Argon responded, drawing gasps from many around them.

"You have the _gall_ to threaten me?" Jacques asked.

Argon's helmet tilted sideways. "Did you think I was holding this gun to your head for show?"

"The council would immediately have you arrested-!"

"I can live with that."

Argon's quick response startled Jacques, but the white haired man continued. "I can easily pull back my Dust funding for the military due to your actions."

Argon remained quiet. Jacques smiled triumphantly.

That smile disappeared when Argon chuckled derisively.

"Oh, you truly _are_ a fool…" Argon muttered. "Go on, then. Do it."

The direct challenge left Jacques gobsmacked.

"Nothing else to say? Then how about you turn your ass right back around and go back home? That is, unless you want Silva to get serious about protecting Weiss."

The whirring of Silva's motors behind him backed up his statement.

Jacques looked between the Pilot and Titan, then gave a reluctant sigh and turned, looking at his two bodyguards with a calm gaze. "Let's go."

Argon watched the trio carefully as they made their way to the airship. Halfway there, Jacques stopped, turning back to look at Weiss.

"You disgust me. A Schnee, having to be protected by riff-raff like this is nothing short of inexcusable. Do not expect your account to be returned to the family fortune anytime soon, and I am officially revoking your status as heiress and shall be passing them down to your brother, Whitley."

Jacques waited a moment after his words, but when Weiss showed no signs of standing up and following him, he turned to Argon.

"And you… do not think this is over."

"I'm ready to go whenever you are, you bastard," Argon responded, giving him a two-finger salute.

With a disgruntled noise leaving his mouth, Jacques boarded the Schnee airship, which took off moments later. Argon watched it go, then turned back to the person he had come here for.

"Weiss, are you okay?"

Weiss stared at him, her eyes wide and unbelieving, then suddenly fell to her knees.

"Weiss!" Jaune exclaimed, dismissing his helmet and kneeling in front of her. "Did he do anything to you?"

Weiss didn't respond. She just continued to look at him, searching his eyes for something.

"… How?"

"Huh?" Jaune asked, straining to hear what she had just whispered.

"How are you so strong…?" she asked, slightly louder this time. "How can you have the will… the strength… to stand up to him like that…? How…?!"

She sounded desperate by the end of it.

Jaune frowned in thought. He had no immediate way to answer the girl.

So instead, he decided to go the way his partner told him.

' _You can't get it wrong if it's the truth_.'

"I'm not strong, Weiss," he said, looking down momentarily. "Not as much as you may think. The reason why I could do that is simple: because he threatened my friend." Weiss' eyes widened further. "My friends and comrades are the one thing I will never allow someone else to hurt if I can help it. I will pull all the strength I need in order to protect and support all those I consider a friend."

Weiss just stared at him. "That's… that's it…?"

"That's it," Jaune responded, smiling lightly and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't _need_ any other reason."

Weiss looked down, sighing. "And… you consider me a friend…? Even after all I've done to you, and said about you, you consider me someone to protect and possibly sacrifice so much for?"

"Of course."

That was all he said, but Weiss didn't need anything more. The young man in front of her was nothing if not selfless and giving, two things she knew she didn't have. She sighed. "… I suppose I still have a long way to go."

Jaune shook his head, standing and helping the girl up. "These are two completely different situations. And… you have all the time in the world, Weiss, as well as many people willing to support you."

Weiss looked up at Jaune's smiling visage.

"Don't try to do what I did. That path only leads you down to loneliness… and I know you know what that feels like, more than anyone."

Weiss eyes widened. "How…?"

"Winter," Jaune responded. "She talked a lot about you. In fact, it was almost all she and I talked about when I told her I knew who you were. You're the one thing in her life she's the most proud of, you know."

Weiss looked down, surprised by the compliment.

"And she's got all the reason in the world to be proud of you," Jaune continued seriously. "Which is why you _can't_ let her down, can you?"

Weiss closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she released it and opened her eyes, she gave Jaune a slow nod, her eyes hardened with determination. Jaune nodded in return and went to turn to Silva, but before he could, the albino girl shocked him when she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his midsection, burying her face in the crook of his neck, which her face barely reached.

"W-Weiss?" Jaune asked, startled by the sudden hug.

"Please, just-," Weiss began, her voice hitching for a moment in a way that made Jaune frown. "Just... Let me have this."

The blonde nodded, knowing there was no way he could deny her. He tenderly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, laying his chin on her head softly and rubbing her back as he felt her tremble.

It took a few moments before the albino girl calmed down, but eventually, she stepped back from him, Jaune letting her go without question and simply looking at her in concern.

"Not a word of this to _anyone_ , understood?" Weiss threatened half-heartedly, her voice still a bit shaky.

Jaune nodded. "You have my word. This stays between us."

Weiss nodded, then looked away, seemingly thinking of something. In the meantime, Jaune turned and contacted Ironwood through Silva. The general was a little annoyed that Jaune had threatened Jacques yet again, but even he couldn't deny that what the man had tried to do was inexcusable.

"Now what, then? Anywhere else I need to go?" Jaune asked the man.

" _Not at all. You've already done plenty throughout the last two weeks. Take a rest for today, and tomorrow we'll prepare you two for extraction back to Atlas."_

"If I may..."

" _Yes?"_

"Would it be possible I could stop to see my family on the way? It's been weeks since the last time, and I know they'll be worried about me due to this attack."

The general smiled and nodded. _"You have my permission, Jaune. Just don't stay away too long."_

Jaune nodded and excused himself, cutting the connection. When he turned back, Weiss was checking through her scroll, and her facial expression looked grim.

"Everything alright?" Jaune asked.

Weiss looked at him, sighing. "I tried to see if I can locate any of the Schnee houses around here, but they're no longer showing up on my scroll. Fath- _Jacques_ works quickly."

"So, you've got no place to stay?"

Weiss shook her head. "I suppose I could get a hotel somewhere nearby until I can get an apartment for myself-."

"There's no need for that," Jaune cut her off, startling her. "You can stay with me for now."

"W-What?!"

The ex-heiress' blushing face confused Jaune momentarily, until he realized how that sentence could be taken. "Platonically, Weiss," Jaune said in a deadpan tone. "And here I thought Blake was the one with a bad mind..."

Weiss sighed at the response, though she couldn't deny she felt a little twinge of disappointment inside her mind.

"I mean, unless you _want_ to make it that way?"

Weiss looked up at Jaune with wide eyes, stammering wildly. She then noticed his shit-eating grin and pouted, strong towards him and slapping his arm.

"Ow, okay, okay, I give," Jaune responded dramatically, holding his arm as if he had been stabbed, which thankfully drew a small laugh from the albino girl. "But seriously, though, you can stay at my apartment in Atlas until you can get back on your feet."

"Are you sure it won't be a problem? You've already done and risked too much for me-."

" _Don't_ ," Jaune responded, poking her forehead. "I told you already, I'd risk much, much more for you all. And no, it won't be a problem. It's a three-bedroom apartment, and I'm usually so busy with missions and training that I hardly stop by anyways. It's a little blank and dusty, but... It's home."

Weiss stared at the young man, closed her eyes, and nodded. "Very well, then. I accept your proposal."

"Oh, Weiss, marriage _already_?" Jaune exclaimed with a gasp. "But I haven't even taken you out to dinner!"

"You _jerk_!" Weiss exclaimed, slapping his arm again, though she was also laughing.

"Okay, come on, let's get going," Jaune motioned forward. "Silva and I are going to get picked up tomorrow, so if you have anything else to do here in Vale, I suggest doing it now."

"Well..." Weiss sigh stopped Jaune in his tracks. "I was... hoping to see Ruby, Yang, and Pyrrha."

Jaune looked at the girl, noticing how she grew quiet at the mention of the three most affected of the group.

"We can go see Pyrrha now, if you want," Jaune responded kindly. "I went to see her a few hours ago, and I think she's still at the hospital. She's gonna be transferred to Mistral's General Hospital tomorrow, so we have time." Jaune looked down as he calculated his timetable. "Ruby and Yang... We can stop to see them on the way to Atlas. I was going to stop at my family's place anyway, so it'll be just one more stop."

Weiss nodded and gave the young man a smile, though he could see it hid a great pain from what had happened to her teammates... her best friends.

"Come on, let's head to the hospital," he said, beginning to walk forward.

He jumped a little when he felt something grab his hand. Looking down, it took a moment for him to recognize the perfectly-manicured nails of the pale hand that was now intertwined with his.

"Weiss...?" Jaune asked, his eyes following the arm up to the girl's face, though she refused to meet them.

"D-Don't think anything of this, okay?" she muttered from the side of her mouth, though he could see her right cheek was dusted crimson. "It's... It's just so we don't get separated."

Jaune blinked at her explanation, then chuckled and nodded, his grip tightening a little on the girl's hand. "Right, right."

As they walked off the helipad and towards the hospital, a robotic voice suddenly spoke up.

" _Detecting increasing heartbeats from Pilot. Analysis suggests attraction as the main cause._ "

Weiss' blush tripled at the words, her grip on Jaune's hand tightening, while Jaune jerked and called back, "Shut up, Silva!"


	12. A Knight's Return

**So, I have two to three story ideas by reviewers, but I had to put them on the back-burner because I have at least three already-completed ficlets that I want to put up. While I post them, through, I can work on the new ones.**

 **Crossover for this one: Fate/Stay Night, Unlimited Blake Works (ish)**

* * *

"So… everyone ready to head out?" Ruby asked the group at large.

Standing at the center of one of the houses owned by the Schnee family were a cacophony of people. The most notable being the entirety of Team RWBY, the remaining three girls standing in a triangular formation to their leader. Next to them was Team SSSN, the Havenite team having reunited once again after Blake and Sun returned to Anima, tracking down Ruby joining her and team RNJR in their search for the Grimm Queen, Salem. To RWBY's left was Team CFVY, having been picked up by the rest of the ensemble to help out. The previously second-year foursome had not been lax in the time since Beacon's downfall, and they were more than ready to help when Ruby had come to them to ask.

"We're still going to have a long talk after this is over," Yang said in a heated tone to her Beacon partner, who looked right back at her with no shyness.

"I know, and I'm looking forward to it," Blake responded.

"Ooh, feisty. I see Sun's _really_ rubbing off on ya," Yang's tone suddenly switched to a more lecherous one, her eyebrows wiggling.

 _That_ got a reaction out of Blake, who blushed and looked away, though her eyes only came to rest on her other yellow-themed partner, who was laughing uproariously at Yang's double entendre.

"I see _that_ part of you certainly hasn't changed," Weiss commented, though her comment held none of the iciness that had long been present in her.

"Some things never change, Ice Queen," Yang winked, giving a groaning Weiss a thumbs up with her robotic hand.

"Hey," a voice suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to the last group, the remains of Team JNPR. The one who spoke up, Ren, held his hand up to silence them all, his eyes closed. Then, he muttered three words.

"We have company."

Immediately, Jaune, Nora, and Ruby brought out their weapons, their trust in Ren's instinct unshakeable. The rest of the group quickly followed through.

"From where?" Jaune asked, his voice entirely neutral.

"South-ish," Ren responded. "Approaching fast."

The blonde wasted no time and ran to the front door, kicking them open and rushing outside. The rest followed behind, arriving to witness Jaune standing at the path that led to the house, shield deployed and standing firm. Ruby immediately ran to his left, deploying Crescent Rose in its sniper mode. To her left gathered the rest of her team and team SSSN, while to Jaune's right lined up Ren, Nora, and team CFVY.

Together, they all waited with bated breath for the oncoming danger. But after two minutes passed with nothing but the wind to accompany them, some naturally began to question their actions.

"What's going on? Is it not coming?" Sun asked, loosening his grip on his staff.

"No, I clearly sensed something approaching," Ren responded, despite the fact that he also loosened his grip on Stormflower. "I can still sense a disturbance… but it's murky… I can't pinpoint its position."

"Well then, what-?"

Ruby's question was cut off when there was a sudden flash of bright light, and what appeared to be a solid golden wave flew towards them, slamming into them all rapidly. The wave of light threw them back powerfully.

No, not all of them.

The blonde leader of JNPR was able to resist it by channeling his aura into his shield, and after planting himself firmly into the ground, he resisted. The wave crashed into him with the force of a rampaging Ursa, but he dug his feet in, refusing to falter. A moment later, the force abated, and he was able to look up, whereupon he gasped.

Standing on the path that led to the house was a tall man in streamlined armor, the color of which was a mix of white and black on the limbs and torso, respectively. It seemed to be meant for minimal coverage, allowing him to swing his arms in all directions as needed. Covering his body from the hips down was a half-skirt that was split in half, similarly allowing him a full range of movement, and sticking out from his left shoulder was the blue hilt of a sword. Covering his head was a plain helmet that seemed fit for a knight, being cylindrical in nature while allowing his eyes to be seen.

And in those holes, all Jaune saw was gray.

The moment their eyes met, a ringing pain erupted in Jaune's head, making him cry out in pain and fall to his knees, clutching it desperately. Thoughts and memories not his own barraged into his mind, threatening to drive him insane in that very moment.

"Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed, turning to growl at the newcomer, who seemed to only have eyes for the blonde young man. With a cry of anger, she picked up her sniper-scythe and dashed at incredible speed towards the dark knight, blade poised to take his head.

Thus, she was surprised when her blade met not flesh or aura, but a pulsing yellow barrier that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Wha-?"

Her question was once again cut off as the barrier disappeared, leaving her hanging in the air, unbalanced. The knight took advantage of that and, faster than even she could see, his hand flashed out and grabbed her by the throat, using his elbow to yank her down and simultaneously knock Crescent Rose out of her hand. The girl reached up, fruitlessly clawing at the hand that was cutting off her air supply, but they froze when the knight's eyes turned to her, locking with her own. She didn't want to admit it, and had no idea how, but those eyes held a sense of… familiarity.

"Ruby!" Weiss cried out when she saw her partner's plight. She immediately called out a glyph, which fired sharp icicles in his direction. Suddenly, the knight pulled back and threw Ruby into the path of the icicles, forcing the heiress to cancel the attack, lest she hurt her partner. Ruby passed by the melted icicles and crashed into the heiress, who skidded back with the reaper in her arms.

"Not my sister, you bastard!" Yang cried out, dashing towards the knight.

"No, stop!"

The sudden voice made the flaming girl halt in her tracks, looking back towards Jaune, who had now finally stood up, holding his hand out towards her. However, his eyes were trained on the enemy in front of her.

"What are you talking about?! He hurt my sister!" she exclaimed.

"I know! But… he's not here for her."

Those words halted everyone else. Teams CFVY and SSSN had been preparing themselves to attack when Jaune had cried out, but those words had drawn their attention to him.

"Are you?" Jaune asked, staring neutrally towards the knight.

The man didn't respond, but a hand came up and pointed directly towards the blonde.

"I thought so…" Jaune responded, grabbing his sword from where it had fallen at his side. Gripping his shield tightly, he stepped forward.

"Jaune?" Nora asked. "What are you doing?"

"He wants me, no one else. So I'm going to give him what he wants," Jaune responded, though there was an odd tone to his voice.

"No, you can't!" Ren exclaimed, rushing forward. The action was interrupted when another barrier appeared in front of him, blocking his way. However, this one wasn't the same as the previous ones. This one was a dome that surrounded Jaune and the nameless knight, encasing them in an arena.

"What's going on?" Sun asked, approaching the barrier.

"Jaune's going against him alone," Ren summarized as the other teams approached.

"What?! He can't! That guy's too powerful for a single person!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I know, but he said that the enemy wants him alone," Ren said, staring heatedly at the dome separating him from his team leader. With a growl, he reached back, pumping his hand full of aura, and slammed his palm against the dome. There was a flash of light, and suddenly he felt himself flying back. "Agh!"

"Ren!" Nora exclaimed, rushing to his side.

"… I suppose… we have no choice now," Ren said in a low voice, looking into the dome at the standoff happening between the nameless knight and his blonde friend. "We can only watch."

"Screw that!" Yang exclaimed, pulling her fist back.

"Yang, no-!"

Ren's warning went on deaf ears as Yang thrust her fist against the yellow dome. Much like Ren, however, as soon as her fist made contact, she was sent flying back.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing to her side. "What's with that thing?!"

"It seems to reflect the force of attack back at its sender," Yatsuhashi suddenly spoke up, having been studying their efforts. As if to test his hypothesis, he pulled his sword from his back and pulled back, slamming it against the dome, with equal results. After being helped up by Velvet, he continued. "Indeed, it is a reflective barrier."

"Then Pretty Boy's right," Coco said, withdrawing her minigun for now. "Best thing we can do it wait and watch."

"And just watch our friend get slaughtered?!" Ruby spoke up.

Coco looked over to her, raising an eyebrow. "You seem to have very little faith in him for being his 'friend'."

Ruby stepped back, startled by the words.

"You might not have noticed it, since you've been travelling with him this entire time, the kid's improved leaps and bounds." The leader of CFVY turned back to the dome, a grin on her face. "This will be interesting."


	13. A Knight's Return 2

Inside the dome, both of the combatants had yet to move, simply staring at each other. Despite the fact that the pain from earlier had left, Jaune still felt a ringing in his ear from whatever that had been.

"What do you want with me?" Jaune got the ball rolling, the grip on his sword tightening.

The knight said nothing at first, then said, in a deep and somewhat distorted voice, "Your… death."

Jaune frowned. "Why? What the hell did I do to you?"

"It's not what you have done…" The knight stopped talking, and instead reached up, grabbing the hilt of his sword. "Tell me, Jaune Arc… what is your dream?"

Jaune drew back. "What?"

"What is it that you wanted to be in the future?"

Jaune remained silent, staring at the man neutrally. Then, in a deadened voice, he said, "I want to be a hero."

With those words, the nameless knight's grip tightened on his sword.

"Then that is all the confirmation I need."

And thus, he drew his blade, a hand-and-a-half-sword that had beautiful golden accents on the blade. The knight held it loosely at his side, his stance shifting slightly.

That slight change was all the warning Jaune had to prepare himself, for the knight charged at him immediately after, thrusting his sword in a swing aimed to take his head. Jaune was just able to get his shield up to block it, but the strike was powerful enough to lift him off the ground and send him crashing against the light dome they were in. The blonde fell to the ground, hacking and wheezing as his lungs struggled for air. However, he retained enough sense to realize the enemy wasn't done, forcing himself to roll away as the knight came down on his position, his sword thrusting into the ground where his torso had been a moment previous.

Lifting his shield, Jaune struggled to speak. "What's it to you, huh?!"

The knight didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pulled out his sword from the ground and twirled it momentarily, then turned back to Jaune and dashed towards him, sword once again singing towards his head. This time, Jaune was more prepared, using some aura to reinforce his right arm's muscles and clashing the flat of his blade the knight's own, leaving them at an impasse.

"What it is to me is none of your concern," the knight responded in his deep tone. "Just know that the only goal of my current self is to kill you, Jaune Arc."

Jaune was barely able to understand him, his body's muscles clenching as he felt an influx of aura, thoughts, and memories not his own once again barrage his mind. In an effort to get some breathing room, Jaune forced his muscles to heave to the right, breaking their lock and allowing him to roll in the opposite direction, where he remained on one knee, keeping his shield deployed between himself and his enemy.

* * *

Outside the dome, the rest of the group was watching with worry, the start of the battle already making them anxious for the blonde's fate. Coco looked around, noting everyone's state. Team RWBY were all on edge; Yang was constantly clenching her fists, Blake's ears twitched every so often, Weiss was biting the nails of her right hand, and Ruby was gripping the edges of her cape tightly. Ren and Nora were both the same, staring at their leader silently. The most relaxed team seemed to be SSSN, the members of which were watching the battle languidly. If she looked at their eyes, though, she'd notice they were all sharply following every move.

When she looked at her own team, she wasn't all that surprised. While Yatsuhashi was watching the battle calmly, Velvet was beside herself with worry, her ears flopping to and fro as her wide eyes looked on. However, when she looked at her partner Fox, she was startled at how focused he seemed to be. Usually, something like this wouldn't have gained much interest from him.

Unless...

"What's the matter, Foxy?" the fashionista asked, her voice serious despite the nickname.

Sighing, Fox turned towards her. "Something's off about those two. This damn barrier gets in the way of my senses, but I can still feel it."

"Feel what?"

"That knight's aura," Fox responded, waving his hand at Jaune's enemy. "It feels to me like their auras are… resonating, in a sense. Their cores are beating at a very similar pulse, but while Jaune's looks to be white, with some hints of grey here and there, the knight's is a bright yellow, like the barrier here."

"And that's supposed to mean…?" Coco waved her hand in the air, much of the deep aura talk going over her head.

"It either means that Jaune and this knight's auras are completely in sync, or…"

* * *

Jaune grunted as he held back another barrage from his enemy, peeking just over his shield in order to be able to tilt it correctly and not be hurt. His aura had already taken some hits, so he kept a clear eye on his gauge.

The entire time, with every hit that the knight landed against his sword, shield, or person, Jaune's entire body would stiffen, and his mind would go into overdrive. It was giving him a migraine like no other, but he was able to glean several images and thoughts from the mental barrage, and none of it was good.

* * *

 _A hill, once green, was now surrounded in fire._

 _A blonde man, wearing black armor, kneeling in the middle of the flames, tearfully holding onto the last vestiges of his sanity._

 _A betrayal, having come long before, drove him to escape; to leave everything behind._

 _The feeling of near accomplishment._

 _Another, subsequent feeling… of despair._

 _Reflections of times past._

 _And an idea, born of a desperation so strong that it held back the sense of insanity in his head._

* * *

Jaune yelled in pain as his distraction allowed his enemy to land a solid slash on his shoulder, sending him off balance and onto one knee.

"This is the end… of Jaune Arc," the dark knight intoned, lifting his sword and preparing for a decapitating strike.

Amongst the yells of his friends and the pain of body, a series of stray thoughts ran through his mind, cementing his will.

"Yes… it is," Jaune murmured, looking up.

As the knight swung his sword down, Jaune lifted his, clashing with the knight. However, unlike the previous times, Jaune willfully released the pressure from his sword, sending the knight off balance.

"It'll be the end of Jaune Arc!" Jaune yelled, collapsing his shield and jumping forward, using his sheath as a bludgeon. "One way or another!"

The collapsed shield impacted heavily with the dark knight's helmet, shattering most of it in one blow. Jaune dived to the side, coming to stand near the edge of the dome and carefully watching his enemy, who was cradling his face in his unarmed hand.

However, the shattered helmet allowed his head to now be seen, on top of which was a mop of very familiar blonde hair.

Everyone outside the dome held their breath, watching the unfolding event with anticipation and not a small amount of dread.

"Isn't that right… Jaune?"

The blonde's words made the dark knight stand straighter, and turn back to him, letting his hand drop.

* * *

"W-what…?" Ruby gasped, staring at the face of the man trying to kill her best male friend. "That… that can't be…"

"That's…"

"It has to be…"

"But how…?"

"I figured…" Fox whispered to himself. "There was only one other option."

* * *

The knight stared at the man he was attempting to kill, his now visible gray right eye staring hatefully at him. Slightly covering the eye was a curtain of blonde hair, and underneath the eye, half of a sharp yet small nose could be seen. The dark knight's lips were cracked, and a single, horizontal scar could be seen underneath his eye, but even with only half his face visible, the likeness between him and his target could not be ignored.

* * *

"That man… is also Jaune Arc." Fox finished.


	14. A Knight's Return 3

"But… but that's impossible!" Weiss exclaimed. "How could there be two Jaunes?!"

Nobody had an answer to that.

Inside the dome, the older Jaune reached up and grabbed the unbroken half of his helmet, tearing it off with a single, flowing movement, and allowing his entire face to be seen. With his head now clear, he spat a globule of blood to his right and said, "Don't call me by that name."

The knight's voice was much deeper that Jaune's, but now that his helmet wasn't distorting his voice, everyone could note the similarity in their speech.

"Oh yeah?" Jaune's hand tensed around his sword's pommel. "Then what do you call yourself?"

"Most people called me… Argon. I suppose that's the only title I've known for a while now," the now dubbed Argon responded.

"Argon…" Jaune rolled the word a few times around his tongue. It felt… paradoxically, alien and yet, so very fitting. "Well, come on, then. Let's keep at it."

Argon sighed, glaring at his younger self. "I didn't know you were in such a hurry to die."

"Don't kid yourself," Jaune exclaimed, taking the initiative and rushing towards him. "I won't die… Not yet!"

The younger blonde's sword clashed with the older blonde's, who had merely brought his own sword into a simple block. Jaune's body locked up momentarily as a burning feeling coursed through his body, but a kick to his sternum brought him back quickly. He did his best to block, parry, and return Argon's assault, but his body was too sluggish when compared to Argon's, leaving him to receive many cuts and bruises alongside his body.

One powerful sword swing later, he found himself thrust back as the strength behind the swing made him loose his footing. Panting in exertion, he stared up at the older blonde, his mind churning as steely grey eyes met his bright blue ones.

"You're a fool," Argon scoffed. "Did you really believe that your swordplay was on par with mine? You may be able to swing your sword back and forth, but what good is it if you can't even hit your target?"

The older blonde disappeared from his view, and it was only through sheer instinct that he was able to bring his shield up to stop the second Crocea Mors. The blade remained connected to his shield for no more than a second or two, but in that time, Jaune once again felt the same burning sensation pulse through his body, feeding him… empowering him.

Argon drew back, spinning a full 360 degrees and swinging his sword in a powerful, horizontal arc. Jaune was just able to bring his sword to a position good enough to take the blow, but the force behind it still sent him back, as well as uprooting the ground slightly.

However, this time, his mind was clearer. This time, his body was stronger.

This time, he could counterattack!

His facial expression becoming a determined frown, Jaune used his airborne momentum to twist in midair, collapsing his shield temporarily in order to gain more speed. Turning a full 360 degrees, he used both hands two strike at Argon with a powerful horizontal slice, which the older knight blocked just in time with his own sword.

The pair of blondes separated, the only thing defining their clash being the broken ground and the slight panting from the younger blonde man.

"I see… I wondered why you were so persistent," Argon mused aloud, bringing his sword up to his eyes. "I had heard that, much like the power that allowed me to return here, there were certain kinds of abilities that allowed one to summon themselves from a previous life, and learn old skills. I see now that it was not merely the work of the human using such an ability, but perhaps the will of Remnant itself. Every time you and I clash… you become stronger."

"Is that so? That's why I've been improving so quickly?" Jaune growled, bringing his shield up. "Keep acting cool then. It'll give me enough time to reach you."

Argon was silent, but not for long. "Reach me, you say? You have it all wrong."

Argon's body blurred, with Jaune just barely being able to bring his shield up to catch the incoming sword strike, which clanged against his shield and came to a stop.

Unlike before, Argon didn't withdraw immediately. He kept the pressure on the shield, forcing Jaune to keep up the counter force.

"No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to match me!"

Jaune just barely heard the words, his mind once again being assaulted by images that he now understood were from Argon's past.

 _Death._

 _All he could see was death._

 _There was the sound of rushing air, as a sword cut through space._

 _A pile of bodies, not all in one piece, and a blonde knight standing just in front of the pile._

 _Several more sword swings, and the pile grew… and grew… and grew._

 _On every face, there was only sadness, anger, or despair._

 _Every time, the knight seemed to fold into himself. His stance became weaker, his shoulders dropping lower and lower._

 _And just when the pile of bodies seemed to reach the sky, and threatened to fall and consume the man that knelt beneath it…_

 _It dissipated, like so much smoke in the wind._

 _And with it, the man lifted his head, blue eyes becoming a steely grey as the area around him combusted, surrounding him in fire._

Jaune gasped as he felt his shield be wrenched from his arm, blearily hearing it being tossed aside. He was just barely able to bring his sword up, catching a powerful diagonal swing on the flat of the blade that sent him flying back, a cut appearing on his temple despite the amount of aura he had left.

He stared up at the older blonde, his armor easily giving him an intimidation factor. As the images replayed over and over in his mind, his eyes widened, and his stomach jumped to his throat.

 _'That couldn't be…'_

"You look sick. Didn't think you'd have such an expression on your face, unless… you know now, don't you?"

Jaune didn't answer, staring at Argon with wide eyes and heavy breaths.

"Let me confirm it for you, Jaune Arc," Argon said spitefully. "Everything you saw is true. All of it happened… and now, I will undo it all."

Before Argon could strike Jaune again, however, a voice stopped both of them.

"STOP!"

The exclamation drew both of them short, as the voice was one both knew and could not, to this day, deny. Together, they turned to the source: the red-themed reaper looking into the dome with wide and wet eyes, chest heaving as she gathered the wind she had lost in the scream.

"Stop…! Please…!" she sobbed. "You… you're Jaune, aren't you?!"

Argon stared at her blankly. "Not anymore, I'm not."

"But you were, at some point!" Ruby pressed on.

Argon continued to stare at her, then sighed. "Yes… but that was long ago, in my eyes."

Ruby continued to stare at him in despair, but this time, Weiss stepped in, her voice full of disbelief and doubt. "Please, if nothing else, answer us this, 'Argon'. Why? Why are you trying so hard to kill Jaune?"

"Why do you even need to ask?" Argon responded, staring at Weiss critically. "It's very simple. I cannot accept him as he is, and now that he knows of me, he is the same."

"But… but how can that be? Just looking at you, I can see that you are the embodiment of what Jaune has been trying to achieve since entering Beacon!" Weiss exclaimed. "You two are the same person! How can you rebuff your own self?!"

Argon continued to stare at Weiss, and this time, Jaune sensed that this wasn't just in response to her question. When he finally did speak up, his voice was filled with disdain. "Once again, it's simpler than you think. Like with Beacon Academy, I didn't reach such a level entirely on my own merit."

His words shook them all.

"I am no hero," he continued. "All I am… is a Protector."

Jaune wasn't sure what that was, but some in the audience did, for he noticed Weiss, Blake, Sun, Coco, and Yatsuhashi draw back in shock.

"A… a Protector? You mean, those guys that work directly under the Council?" Sun asked with a faint voice.

"But that means… You serve humanity, and help shield its existence, by being a restrictive influence on whatever may harm it," Weiss continued. "And if that is the case, then you _are_ a hero, Argon, no matter what you may say."

"And _that_ is where you are mistaken, Weiss Schnee," Argon immediately rebuffed, walking up to stand just in front of her, with only his own aural shield between them. Weiss looked up at him, her eyes wide and confused, while Ruby, Blake, and Yang took up positions around her. "A Protector isn't a hero. All we do is clean up the low ends of humanity."

"W-What? But, Argon-."

"No… you know what? You're right. In a sense, I did become a hero… just like Jaune Arc wanted," Argon suddenly refuted himself, closing his eyes momentarily. "And that is the reason why I realized… that Jaune Arc's life is one with no value whatsoever."

"A life with no value?" Weiss asked faintly. "But… but how can that be? You became what you wanted to be; what Jaune wanted to be. How can you say that? You're the realization of Jaune's goal!"

"Do you really believe that?" Argon asked in a deathly whisper. "I may have become a hero, in a sense… but I _never_ achieved my dream. All I had, since I began that damned life… was nothing but a multitude of regrets."

Everyone around the older blonde could only stare at him as he spoke, transfixed by his words.

"As a Huntsman, I helped people survive by fighting and killing the monsters that threatened humanity, the Grimm. As a Protector, I merely became a force without a mind, only following the orders I was given, and my abilities were turned inward, towards humanity itself. The Grimm fighting was left to the Huntsmen and Huntresses… What _I_ hunted were those that attracted such a force to humanity's doorstep."

Everyone's eyes widened as they finally understood where he was going with this.

"I killed… and I killed… and I killed… I killed once and again, never stopping. I killed… until I finally stopped caring about my actions. Humans that threatened others, such as Cinder Fall; humans who would indiscriminately cause chaos and destruction; and worst of all… humans who simply could not help their situation. Heartbroken men and women… lone survivors of Huntsmen groups… depressive, miserable, and antisocial humans, who perhaps reached such a point because of a loved one dying… Innocent men and women, who could not help their situations… I killed them all… all under orders."

The horror was now beginning to settle into them, understanding just what had happened to Jaune's life to turn out like _this_.

"Every life I took meant hundreds, if not thousands, more would survive…" Argon continued to speak, his eyes lowered as he recalled his life. "Every time I was called to action to do battle, it would always be the same. And by and by, I came to realize that no matter how much longer I went… I would never achieve my goal."

Silence permeated the air. No one around him could think of anything to say to such a statement.

"I didn't want to create a world without fighting altogether. I knew that was impossible. All I wanted… was to know that no one around me would have reason to feel sadness, loneliness, or despair.

"And that's why I believe… that the dream of that boy… is nothing but shallow idealism."

"No…" Ruby whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. "How… how can you say that? How can you believe that?"

"Because it's the truth," Argon responded directly, uncaring of what she may feel on the matter. "One person cannot save everyone. That is the height of foolishness… but I don't have to tell you that, do I, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby looked up, directly into the man's eyes, but his sharp glare was one she couldn't hold contest to.

"All I did as a Protector was find those whose happiness was in death, and grant it to them. You could say I saved a great many lives, and isn't that what a hero does? There you have it, Weiss Schnee." The older blonde turned to the albino girl, whose eyes were shining with unshed tears. "That is what my life became… and despite the fact that I took my title with the hope of eradicating despair in those I helped… I caused more than my own share of suffering, and through it, entered a vicious cycle."

Everyone had been staring at Argon during his rant, but one bunny-eared Faunus, in fear of what the man was saying, turned to the younger version of him. To her despair, she could see he was despondent, his head bowed and his hair shadowing his eyes.

" _That_ is the true nature… of Protector Arc, otherwise known as Argon. Do you understand now… why the world would be so much better without him in it?"

Argon turned away, not giving anyone a chance to respond, and to their surprise, tossed his own blade towards the younger blonde. Jaune didn't react as the blade slid to a stop at his feet, the metal glinting ominously.

"Now that you've heard this… go on. Kill yourself, Jaune Arc."

Everyone's eyes shifted rapidly to the younger blonde, who didn't move from his spot. One person, however, still had something to say.

"Argon," Yatsuhashi spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I do not believe you betrayed your ideals. Could it be, perhaps, that you yourself have been betrayed by the ideals you held in your heart?"

"I concur," Sage spoke up after Yatsuhashi. "There is much trouble and strife in your past, but you would not be attempting to atone for your sins in such a manner if this was not the case, would you?"

Everyone turned back to Argon, hoping to see some positive response to these claims. To their surprise, Argon closed his eyes and smiled, then, shockingly, laughed aloud at this.

"Atone for my sins, you say?" the older blonde said, his chuckles dying down. "You cannot be serious. You aren't wrong, Yatsuhashi. I _was_ betrayed in my life, many times. A person who aims to lay down his life for others without rhyme or reason is someone that is rarely understood. And that is why, when the Council deemed my time under their contract finished, I was set up as the instigator of a coup against a major city… and executed."

There were gasps all around.

"What?" Yang spoke up, her eyes wide and unbelieving. "That… that's impossible. That's how you died?!"

"Well, almost," Argon shrugged. "I was believed dead after the chase that occurred. A chase led by none other… than SDC heiress Weiss Schnee."

Weiss stepped back in shock, refusing to believe that.

 _'I couldn't… I'd never betray my friends like that… could I?'_

The doubt in her mind made her fall to her knees, her only support being Ruby's hand on her shoulder.

"'No one could survive what he went through', they said," Argon continued. "'Miss Schnee is the cream of the crop, and anyone that came before her blade would surely fall.' And they would have been correct, in any other case. Unfortunately, for them and me, I was always a tough bastard. If there's one thing I can attest that I have, it's survivability."

"That… that can't be…" Blake whispered.

"So if I _had_ any sins to speak of, I believe I fully atoned for them then, Yatsuhashi, Sage," Argon said, looking directly at the two parties. "I never asked them for gratitude, or to be acclaimed a hero. All I wanted… was a world where those I knew had no reason to cry. But I couldn't even have that." Everyone stared at the older blonde in shock. "Neither as a Huntsman, nor as a Protector, could I actually save anyone. All I did was kill. I tried my best, hoping that one day I could save at least one person in trouble. But it never came."

"Are… You… You weren't able to save even a single person?" Ruby asked faintly.

"No. On the contrary, I've killed the very people I wanted to save… all because of my stupidity and naivety as a child. I'm sick of it, but due to my contract with the council, my soul itself is bound by those rules. However… if I can avoid this long before I even hear about the Protectors, I can break this."

"That would never work!" Blake objected. "If you truly came from some far-off future, then your fate is already sealed. Your very existence proves that!"

"True," Argon shrugged. "It's merely a chance I have. But even if it doesn't, I will at least be able to live with the knowledge that the mistake that is Jaune Arc's ideal of a hero from this world."

The silence was palpable as he turned to his younger counterpart. "What's the matter, Jaune? You heard and saw firsthand what your life will become. End it now, and spare yourself the pain of that."

Everyone's sights switched to Jaune, who had yet to move from his position.

Their breaths caught in their throats when he finally did, slowly taking a hold of Argon's sword and lifting it to hold it horizontally, as if examining its design.

"Jaune..?!" Ruby asked, her voice caught between panic and anger.

"No, he wouldn't…" Weiss whispered.

"Don't even think about it," Ren growled.

Jaune ignored them all. He tilted the sword this way and that, looking at the golden patterns on the blade, then suddenly spoke. "Argon, answer me this… do you regret your life?"

"Of course," Argon responded bitingly.

Jaune paused in his examination, then gave a short sigh and said, "Well… then you wasted your time coming back. We're no longer the same person."

"What?" The question was made not just by Argon, but the rest of the students there as well.

Jaune backhandedly tossed Argon's sword at the man, who caught it in a reverse grip, watching Jaune with narrowed eyes.

"I don't care what happens to me. I will _never_ regret anything in my life. I promised myself that after _that_ night." Jaune's glaring eyes pierced into Argon's like lasers. "If _you_ are supposed to be my ideal… then I'll have break past that mistake myself."

Everyone stared in shock at Jaune, startled by the pure determination in the young man's gaze. Argon, meanwhile, simply closed his eyes.

"That kind of thinking… is what caused all of this in the first place. One day… you'll find yourself in the same place as me."

"You're wrong," Jaune responded simply. "I will _never_ reach that point. Your present _will not_ be my future."

"You're not wrong, I suppose," Argon sighed, twirling his sword momentarily. "If you will not run or give up, then there _is_ no future for you."

The pair stood there, gusts of wind crossing between them. Then, by unspoken consent, both parties dashed towards each other, their swords clashing with a powerful impact.


	15. The Unexpected Reunion

**This is the second ficlet that I had already written, set in an AU past Volume 4 where Weiss didn't exactly sneak out so much as fought her way out of the Schnee Manor. She did still go to Mistral, and all that, and that's where this starts.**

 **I'm currently working on two ideas, and still have about five more floating around my brain.**

* * *

The ground was peppered with scant amounts of blood, reflecting strongly on the snow that came during this season on the northernmost parts of Mistral. Its owner panted as she ran through the deadened trees, stepping around the trees at times in order to try and shake off her pursuers, with negligent results.

Weiss Schnee's eyes closed momentarily as she berated herself. She should've known that it would be foolish to believe that her father would not bother pursuing her just because she had escaped (thrashing a good part of the Schnee Manor in the process). She had come to Mistral to try and get some R-n-R, but that had immediately gone down the drain when one of the locals of the town she had been staying in had recognized her. Unbeknownst to her, her father had sent out envoys, both technological and human, to many cities and villages, claiming that she was a traitor and asking for any information on her whereabouts, using pictures of the destruction she had caused in her bid for freedom to twist the tale against her.

She only found out about such when a small platoon of Atlesian soldiers came to knock on the door of the inn she was staying at.

And now here she was, running away from two sources, both of which could cause her untold amounts of pain.

One source was the group of soldiers still hot on her tail.

The second… was a piece of her past.

She had spent most of her aura attempting to escape the soldiers after her, but they were numerous, and whenever she took one down, another quickly adapted against her. The wound just above her pancreas proved such; it was shallow, but wide, the cause being a Dust-infused bullet that she was unable to properly dodge or counter, and the force of which took out the remainders of her aura.

With no other recourse, she ran, heading into the forest of dead trees that she could use as cover. En route, she had used the new scroll she had obtained in the village to send out a distress beacon, hoping against hope that anyone could come to her aid.

To her simultaneous surprise, elation, and horror, the call had indeed been picked up... by none other than Ruby Rose.

The red reaper had changed much in the year and some months that they had been away, but the palpable happiness that appeared on her face when she saw Weiss' own was as genuine as it had always been. She was able to understand the situation that Weiss was in quickly, even without the ex-heiress girl saying anything in her shock, and had mentioned something about the remainder of Team JNPR before quickly closing the call.

Weiss didn't need to be a genius to understand that the girl would be tracking her. And that was where the 'horror' part came in.

"I can't… let her… be captured…" Weiss panted aloud, holding her hand over the shallow but still-bleeding wound on her lower torso.

Unfortunately, her luck would soon end, as she found herself entering a large clearing in the forest. With no hiding spots immediate, the girl attempted her best to run across the clearing as quickly as possible, but her wound throbbed painfully, multiplying the exhaustion of her body.

With hardly any energy left, Weiss fell face-first to the ground, the snow providing her a soft landing.

The sound of marching feet made her struggle to stand, yet they stopped after just a few moments. Turning her head slightly, she watched as the mixture of human and robotic Atlesian soldiers stopped just at the edge of the clearing, spacing themselves out carefully, yet remaining as a tight-knit group that prevented any thoughts of escape.

"Miss Schnee," the one who appeared to be the commander stepped out, addressing her with some contempt. "You are weakened and have nowhere to run. Will you continue this farce?"

The girl growled and turned her body over so she was facing them, despite the fact that she was unable to stand. "I refuse to return to that madman," Weiss spit out. "You'll have to kill me before I ever surrender to you."

The commander sighed, though she could see then hint of a smile on his face. "Well, how lucky we are that _that_ is an option we can take. Men! Aim!"

The group responded to their commander's charge, and the girl was temporarily surrounded by the sounds of cocking guns.

"Farewell, Miss Schnee," the commander said, turning his back to the girl and walking back into the trees.

Weiss closed her eyes, silently sending a farewell to her team, and an apology to her team leader.

"Fire!"

The girl's body tensed as the triggers were pulled, but to her surprise, she felt no pain. Over the cacophony of firing bullets, the girl could just barely make out the sound of metal pinging.

"Metal…?" she whispered, eyes still closed. Realizing that she was not dead when her wound once again throbbed painfully, she opened her eyes.

Her mind just barely registered the fact that all she could see for a moment was blue and black. When her sight finally focused, and the details set in, she realized what she was looking at was a pair of jeans and boots, standing (or more appropriately, kneeling) just in front of her. Looking up, she was unable to see what the person in front of her looked like, but she noticed he or she was wearing a black top, and could just barely make out the sight of white and gold armor to his or her left.

The origin of the pinging noises was revealed to her when she then realized that the person in front of her was holding a shield just in front of himself or herself, protecting the two from harm. And if that weren't enough, as she looked the person, she could see ripples in the air; points where the bullets would impact and then ricochet off, as if they were hitting an invisible barrier.

"Who…?" she questioned weakly.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" a voice called out, halting all noise. For a moment, the clearing was filled with nothing but the sounds of rushing air. Then, a familiar voice filled the clearing. "You, identify yourself! Why have you intervened?"

The person didn't move for a moment, but instead sighed. Pulling their shield from the ground, he (for she now recognized the tone as masculine) came up to his full height, towering over the prostrate girl behind him.

And then, he spoke, his voice utterly shocking the girl, had the familiar locks of blonde hair not already done so.

"That's none of your concern."

The girl's mind was muddled as she looked at the figure in front of her, processing the sight of white and gold armor around his torso, as well as the hood draping over the back of said armor. She could now fully see the white and golden shoulder plate he had on his left bicep, and the shield that he wielded on his left hand.

A white shield with bronze accents, but which still held the insignia of two golden arcs.

"J-Jaune…?"

The blonde knight didn't turn or acknowledge physically that he heard her, but instead, simply asked, "Can you stand, Weiss?"

The girl gave a shaky nod, then remembered he couldn't see her and said, "Yes... Barely."

Jaune grunted. "Well, that'll have to do. Keep going south. You should run into Ruby in about two minutes, in your condition."

Weiss stared at Jaune's back, his orders just barely centering in her mind. The shock of seeing him appear so suddenly had yet to abate. "H-How did you-?"

"No questions, Weiss. We don't have the time," Jaune responded sharply, the sound of cocking guns emphasizing his point. "Go!"

"But what about you?" she questioned regardless.

Seeing him place his shield in front of himself, entering an unfamiliar stance, was all the answer she needed.

"No... No!" Weiss exclaimed, reaching for Myrtenaster. "You can't take on them all! You'll die!"

Jaune's stance didn't falter at her words. On the contrary, his sword hand seemed to tighten its grip on the handle.

"Jaune, I won't let you-!"

" **Weiss!** "

The exclamation stopped the white-haired girl in her tracks, her hand shaking as it drifted across Myrtenaster's grip. She remained rooted to the spot as he finally turned his head, just enough for her icy blue eyes to lock with his bright blue ones.

"Go," he insisted softly, giving her a smile. "One of us should have the chance to have their partner back."

Weiss grit her teeth at his words, but was unable to respond due to Jaune turning back quickly to the soldiers. She turned around, heeding his order, but not without a final comment.

"You'd better stay alive, Jaune. Do you hear me? I'll never forgive you if you don't return."

And with those words, she jogged back into the forest, only having a slight limp as her aura was allowed the chance to return and help her body recover.

"Stop her!" She heard the commander's words, but didn't heed then. As she continued on, the sounds of battle began to fade away.

And with nothing but the forest around her for company, she allowed herself to sigh. "I'm sorry, Jaune... It seems that, no matter what, all I do is cause you pain."

* * *

A few minutes later, with her aura much more recovered, Weiss ambled into yet another clearing. In this one, however, were three other familiar people.

"-can't find any trace of her," Ruby was saying. "Oh, I hope she's alright."

"Well, I could be better," the girl in question responded, startling the three.

"WEISS!" Ruby exclaimed, immediately running over to her Beacon partner. Weiss' rapidly raised hand, however, stopped her. "Are you alright?!"

"Tired, but nothing more," Weiss sighed, nodding in greeting at Ren and Nora, who both waved in return. Focusing on her ex-team leader, Weiss said resolutely, "We have to go back."

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed. "Weiss, you need to rest-!"

"That's not important! Jaune's back there!" Weiss exclaimed, shocking the trio. "He's facing a small platoon of Atlesian soldiers, just so I could escape!"

Ren's eyes widened, immediately understanding her point. "Jaune!" he exclaimed in worry, running off in the direction she had come from.

"Ren, wait!" Nora exclaimed, running after him.

Ruby watched them go, then turned back to Weiss. "You ran into Jaune?"

"Well, I'd say it's the opposite," Weiss responded. "I would have died if he hadn't jumped in."

Ruby's face tightened into an expression Weiss had rarely seen on her ex-partner's face: anger. A moment later, however, Ruby sighed, releasing her anger and looking at her with something more akin to disappointment. "We're going to talk about that, but later."

Before Weiss could say anything, Ruby picked her up in a bridal carry with a sweeping movement, startling her, then began running after Ren and Nora, the duo catching up with the childhood friends quickly. Just ahead of their position, they could hear the sound of several explosions, which only made them more frantic to reach the blonde.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the clearing, the sounds of battle had already faded.

The foursome stopped just at the edge, looking around the clearing in shock. The trees all around them were filled with holes from bullets, and some were even burnt and smoking from explosive rounds. Scattered all around the ground were pieces of Atlesian Knights, while one or two human bodies could be seen, unmoving.

However, the typical blonde hair of Jaune Arc was nowhere to be seen.

"Jaune!" Ren yelled out, hoping his team leader would answer. When all he heard in return was the billowing wind, he ran into the clearing, looking around desperately.

Nora and Ruby joined him in the call, but Weiss could say nothing, her eyes wide as she looked at the destruction here. She could barely imagine the battle that had taken place here, and a part of her mind didn't _want_ to.

However, as she was so silent, she was the only one able to hear the raspy cough just behind her.

Turning quickly and drawing Myrtenaster, she held it up to the face of who she expected to be an Atlesian soldier. Her eyes widened when she recognized instead the face of the blonde man that had saved her.

"Jaune!" Weiss exclaimed, dropping her rapier and running to him, her exclamation drawing the eyes of the other three.

The blonde knight was a mess. His left eye was closed, with two trails of blood falling from it. His face was haggard and pale, and his hair was disheveled and plastered to his face. He was holding his shield arm around his lower ribs, where his torso armor didn't reach, and said armor had many burn marks and a hole or two where powerful Dust-grade rounds had penetrated it. While his right leg was fine, he was leaning heavily on it due to the fact that his left leg had been pierced at least five times by bullets, likely when his aura had run too dry to protect him. Just under that leg, a small pool of blood was already forming, contrasting starkly with the white snow.

"Jaune...!" was all Weiss could say, the number of injuries on the young man's body leaving her searching for anything else but shock to react with.

The young man seemed to have a hard time focusing on her, but when his good eye did, a smile slowly came to his face, though it came with a small amount of blood falling from the left side of his mouth.

"Hey… Weiss…" he rasped, his voice barely reaching the wide-eyed girl and the now arriving Ruby, Ren, and Nora. "Glad to see… you're… safe…"

This was promptly followed by the young man falling to the snow face-first.

* * *

 **I might write a part 2 for this, maybe as a timeskip when Jaune wakes up. For now, I'll focus on the two I already have in progress.**


	16. The Arkos Equinox

**Okay, this is the final idea that I had, and one I hope to make into a little series. As the title says, this one I call the Arkos Equinox.**

 **Why?**

 **This is inspired, in part, by the Equinox Warframe of the game Warframe. A frame that has a balance of two sides, an offensive half and defensive half.**

 **I intend to make it into a little series because I want to make several one-shots of Jaune unlocking different Warframe abilities as semblances, and not all at the same points. If I can get the next one out as I think, then it'll become a little clearer.**

 **Anyway, enjoy.**

 **Inspiration: Warframe - Equinox**

* * *

 _ **Equinox: the time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length.**_

* * *

"Alright, you two, front and center!"

The barked order from the grizzled Huntsman prompted Jaune and Oscar to move quickly. The pair had been woken up early by Qrow, with the man claiming that it was their turn for some training. To that end, he had gotten permission to use the Haven Academy training room they were currently in.

Some feet away were the rest of team RNJR, watching Ruby's uncle train the two. They had each received a spot of the man's time, but it seemed like he had saved Jaune and Oscar for last. Sitting to Ruby's left was Weiss, with whom the team had reunited when the Schnee had spotted them in Mistral some days ago.

"Now, can you tell me why I chose you two to train together?"

Jaune and Oscar blinked, then looked at each other. Jaune made an odd shrugging motion, to which Oscar replied with the same.

"No clue," Jaune stated dully.

"Really? None at all?" Qrow asked, smirking.

Oscar looked up momentarily, as if hearing something, then sighed. "It has something to do with aura control, doesn't it?"

"You got it, pipsqueak," Qrow nodded, turning to Jaune afterwards. "From what I know you're the only one of the group that doesn't have a semblance."

"Yeah, so what?" Jaune challenged the man.

"So we're going to work on that," Qrow continued. "I never tried this since my semblance was fairly clear cut from the beginning, but I know how it works. Blondie, you're going to do this in order to try and unlock your semblance. Pipsqueak, _you're_ doing this to get better control over yours."

The pair of young men looked at each other again, then nodded simultaneously.

"What do we have to do?" Oscar asked.

"Meditate."

That one word stopped both of them short.

"Mediate…? That's it?" Jaune asked.

"Let me finish explaining," Qrow insisted. "I learned this from my teammate Summer, who was taught this way. It's a fairly clever way of finding a semblance, but it needs concentration, alright?"

The pair nodded once again, while to the side, Ruby paid much more attention, interested in seeing what her mother had come up with.

"Okay, first things first. Both of you, get comfortable on the floor."

Oscar gingerly sat down, crossing his legs and placing his arms on them.

Jaune simply plopped down and laid on his back.

Qrow looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You said 'get comfortable'. I'm pretty comfortable here."

Shaking his head, Qrow chuckled and nodded. "Fine, fine. If it helps you relax, then it's fine. Alright, now close your eyes and focus on your body."

The pair did as instructed.

"Try to block out everything around you. Focus on your breathing, your muscle movements, and the beats of your heart. Listen only to what your body tells you."

Jaune relaxed his muscles, bringing to mind everything that his current instructor was saying.

He could feel the contraction and expansion of his lungs as he exhaled and inhaled.

He could feel the tightening of his biceps, thighs, and chest as he moved each involuntarily.

He could hear the soft vibrations of his heart pounding.

"Now…" The grizzled Huntman's voice was lower than Jaune expected. Perhaps he knew just how serious meditation could be. "I want you to try and focus on your aura."

Jaune searched his body for it.

"Tune out everything else."

The world ceased to matter to him for now.

"Lose yourself in it."

Suddenly… he was falling…

* * *

 _'What is this feeling…?'_

 _Opening his eyes, he can see nothing but a white expanse._

 _Where was he?_

 _What was this?_

 _The white expanse solidifies…_

 _But he's no less confused by the result._

 _It feels like he's in the sea… but the water is a glowing white color that almost blinds him at first._

 _He tries to move, and only succeeds in shifting somewhat._

 _Then, a color shift catches his attention._

 _He does his best to turn towards it._

 _…_

 _What is that?_

 _A sphere of flowing red water, similar in substance to the glowing white one that he's dunked in._

 _As he approaches, he begins to hear a voice…_

 _He'd heard this voice before…_

* * *

 ** _"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality…"_**

* * *

 _Yes, he'd heard this voice… but where?_

 _It was all a blur…_

 _But he could hear the voice perfectly._

* * *

 ** _"Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all…"_**

* * *

 _Blankly, he began to repeat the words as his hand approached the red sphere._

* * *

 ** _"Infinite in distance and unbound by death…"_**

* * *

 _His hand made contact._

* * *

 ** _"I release yours soul…"_**

* * *

 _The sphere shone._

* * *

 ** _"And by my shoulder…"_**

* * *

 _He was overwhelmed._

* * *

 ** _"Protect thee."_**

* * *

 _A multitude of emotions blasted through his mind._

* * *

Everyone watched with bated breath as Oscar and Jaune remained silent, the only indicators of their lives being the movement of their chests.

Simultaneously, both young men's auras flashed across their bodies. Oscar's aura was like a wave of deep green energy intermixed with brown accents.

However, to RNJR and Weiss' surprise, the aura that passed over Jaune's body was colored red.

Suddenly, both young men opened their eyes. Jaune immediately sat up, raising his hands and looking at them as if in a new light. Oscar, meanwhile, attempted to control his breathing.

"So, how you feeling?" Qrow asked them with a smirk.

That smirk disappeared as Jaune made an odd exclamation.

"What is this?!"

Everyone looked at the boy in askance, then at each other, before turning back to him.

"Mister Arc? Is everything alright?" Oscar asked, though his voice held a noticeably deeper tone.

That's when Jaune looked up, and everyone leaned back in shock.

Jaune's eyes had changed. Where before, there was bright blue, his irises were now colored a shining green.

"Jaune! Your eyes!" Ruby exclaimed, standing up and approaching him.

Jaune stared at her, as if looking at her for the first time.

"Ruby?" he asked.

Ren's eyes narrowed at the way he said that. It felt… _off_.

"Yeah, that's my name…" Ruby responded awkwardly.

"I…" Jaune looked back at his hands, then at Ruby. "You…"

"You're not Jaune."

The sentence from Ren drew everyone's attention, their heads swiveling from the Lie to the Arc quickly.

"Are you?" Ren continued.

Jaune stared at him blankly, then shook his head.

"Who are you?" Ren said, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"I'm… Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."

Everyone's eyes widened further at the words, with Team RNJR and Weiss staring at the green-eyes blonde in shock.

"P… Pyrrha…?" Ruby whispered.

"That's… impossible!" Nora exclaimed, jumping to her feet and rushing over to Jaune. "Pyrrha's… Pyrrha's dead…!"

The choked way the orange-haired bomber said this was not lost on anyone.

"Dead…?!" Jaune exclaimed in a whisper. "But… that can't be. I'm still here…"

Everyone stared at each other, unsure of what the hell was going on.

To the side, green eyes with brown accents watched the unfolding scene with interest.

"Okay, I think we all need to calm down here," Qrow said, stepping up to the group and drawing their attention. "You." He pointed directly at the blonde. "Can you prove you are who you claim to be?"

"Of course," Jaune stated. "I am Pyrrha Nikos, born in Mistral to Vervada and Adamos Nikos-"

"No, no, not that," Qrow cut her off. "Let me put it another way. What's the last thing you remember? Try to be as detailed as possible."

Jaune looked down, blinking momentarily, then closed his eyes. "I remember… I was unlocking Jaune's aura in the Emerald Forest of Beacon Academy. I arrived yesterday to become a student there." Several gasps rose up at his words, making him look up. "What?"

"That was… more than a year ago already," Weiss spoke up, her eyes narrowed dubiously.

"What?"

"I see…"

The words from the black-haired boy startled everyone. To their surprise, he was leaning forward, watching Jaune intently.

"I… I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met before," Jaune spoke.

"Technically, we haven't," Oscar responded. "But the others inside us have. And I can assure you that you and I, mentally, _have_ met before, Miss Nikos."

This entire conversation was driving the rest of them up the wall, but Qrow stepped in before someone exploded.

"Oz? Is that you?" the man asked.

"Yes, my old friend," Oscar smiled up at the grizzled Huntsman. "I knew that Oscar had great potential. He was able to understand Summer's exercise almost immediately… as soon as I gave him a pep talk, that is."

"So, do you know what's going on with Blondie over there?" Qrow asked, motioning towards Jaune.

"Yes. In fact, I dare to say it's the very same situation Oscar and I have. The difference here is that theirs is not completely involuntary."

"Huh? Jaune?" Jaune suddenly spoke, looking up. Everyone turned to him as he began to look around the room. "Where are you? I can't see you." There was silence. "What do you mean, I'm in your body?!"

"Miss Nikos, I believe he may be speaking to you in your head," Oscar spoke up.

"Oh… Why is he in my head? He was in front of me just a few moments ago. Then, suddenly, I'm here, and-"

"What's Jaune saying to you?" Qrow cut her off.

Jaune closed his eyes, focusing. "He's telling me to… concentrate."

"Please, do so, Miss Nikos. Try to concentrate on your aura right now."

Jaune did as Oscar instructed, closing his eyes and focusing on nothing but his aura. The rest of them waited and watched with bated breath as his breathing became more even, and a moment later, a wave of white energy passed through his body.

When his eyes opened again, they were back to their old blue color.

"Ow…" Jaune moaned, rubbing his head. "That just gave me a hell of a migraine…"

"Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Yeah?" the blonde responded.

"What was all of that?" the bomber asked.

Jaune blinked, then looked at the others, who were staring at him. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"I… don't know."

"Explain it from the beginning, Mister Arc," Oscar said, smiling at the blonde.

"Mister Arc…?" Jaune questioned, turning to the black-haired boy. A familiar glint appeared in Oscar's eyes, making Jaune raise an eyebrow. "Wait… Ozpin?"

"Quite perceptive. And as you may have guessed, yes, it seems you and Miss Nikos are going through something similar to what Oscar and I are."

"Hmm… that doesn't really explain much."

Jaune looked around for a moment before sighing again. As best as he could he began to explain what had happened in his mind after he had gone down under.

* * *

"… and after I finished the chant, the ball of red stuff just seemed to… explode. Everything near me was covered in red, and my mind was filled with images and thoughts that I knew weren't mine. It took time for me to get back to my side of things, and when I looked back, it looked like exactly half of my area was covered in red while the other was all white. I don't really know how to explain it better than that."

Everyone remained silent after the explanation, trying to digest what the young man had just said.

"I see… I never thought I'd see this again," Ozpin said, rubbing his chin.

"Again?" most of those present questioned.

"Yes. I understand what Mister Arc is explaining because I've seen it twice before." The black-haired boy said with a little smirk. "I'll explain as best I can. Imagine, if you will, that Mister Arc's aura is an ocean that is split into two sections by a transparent barrier. When he arrived at Beacon Academy, it was just there, unused but always underneath. However, when Miss Nikos unlocked his aura, she reached in with her own and invigorated, in a way, his own soul, allowing his aura to flourish. Now, imagine that the amount of aura that Miss Nikos used to unlock Mister Arc's aura is a large sphere of red coloring. That sphere was dropped inside of one side of Mister Arc's oceanic aura, tightly compacted so that it merely allowed his aura to overflow and protect him. Now, Mister Arc has access to it, but on one side of his aura, there was always that ball of red aura, a part of Miss Nikos' _soul_ , sitting there and waiting. And now, through his trip into his own aura, Mister Arc has broken the seal on that sphere, and the red aura inside it has escaped, mixing with all of the aura on that side of his soul. In essence, it is safe to say that your body's aura is split exactly in half, Mister Arc. One half comes directly from your soul, while the other has attuned to the remains of Miss Nikos' soul inside you."

Everyone was staring at Ozcar in shock, his explanation making a bunch of sense and, simultaneously, making no sense at all.

"It seems that your conjoining is much different than that of myself and Oscar, or the other two I've seen in my time," Ozcar continued, tilting his head, a move that made him look like a puppy. "Oscar's body and aura are still his own; I am merely a presence in his mind. You, on the other hand, contain two actual souls, even if they're half of what they used to be. It seems you can still mentally speak, though."

"Yeah…" Jaune muttered, eyes wide as he understood what was happening. He looked up momentarily, just as Pyrrha had done earlier, and sighed. "Well, Pyrrha's still freaking out in my head. Going by what she's saying, her mind was put on pause since she unlocked my aura. The Pyrrha in my head hasn't moved a minute past the chant."

"Then it seems you will need to work hard and get her up to speed," Ozcar said with a little smile. "Please, be patient with her, Mister Arc. I can surmise that this is as much a shock to her as it was to Oscar hearing me inside his head. Speaking of, I believe I hear him yelling at me to give him back his body. Goodbye for now."

With that, Ozcar closed his eyes, and a moment later, after watching a wave of brown energy pass through his body, Oscar gave a shuddering breath as he opened his eyes.

"That felt so weird…" he muttered. A moment later, he winced and put a hand to his head. "Ow, ow, ow… my head is killing me."

"Yeah, welcome to the club. Meetings are on Saturdays," Jaune snarked, rubbing his own head.

"Aw, that's too bad. I have an appointment this Saturday and I can't come," Oscar returned, grinning despite the pain.

"That's fine. It was just us two anyway, so that frees up my schedule for greater things," Jaune continued, now also grinning.

"Oh? Did 'Mister Arc' finally get himself a date?" Oscar retorted.

"You're one to talk, little Farm Boy," Jaune laughed, though he quickly stopped and put a hand to his head. "Ow, ow, it hurts to laugh…"

"Hey, I can get a girlfriend if I want to!" Oscar retorted, though he was still grinning.

"You'll have to prove it," Jaune grinned.

The pair continued to stare at each other, while the rest of those gathered watched them, befuddled at the sudden change in atmosphere.

"So, now we both have voices in our heads," Jaune summed up, grin still present.

"Yeah, but you're the lucky one here," Oscar pouted. "I've seen this Pyrrha Nikos' pictures. At least you have a pretty girl in your head instead of an old man."

Jaune paused, smirking knowingly as he watched Oscar wince a little.

"Sorry, sorry, okay? Fine, you're not that old!" Oscar suddenly exclaimed at the air.

Jaune sighed, shaking his head in mirth. "We're going to have to learn to not speak out loud. People are going to think we're crazy out there."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Oscar responded cheekily.

Jaune nodded in agreement, then turned to their 'teacher'. "So, are we done here? I could use a nice, hot shower."

"Hmph, yeah, go on, you two. Take a rest, and try to get some kind of understanding with your inner selves," Qrow said, pulling out his flask and taking a gulp. "If you got any questions, or if you'd just rather have a drink, you'll know where to find me."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, having finally snapped out of her reverie at her uncle's last comment. "They're too young to drink."

Jaune's chuckle brought her attention back to him. "You might be, Ruby, but honestly… I could use a drink."

"I've never drank alcohol before…" Oscar admitted, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I've heard good and bad stories about it, though. Is it any good?"

"It depends, really," Qrow responded, actually sounding professorial. Considering this was a subject he was most definitely knowledgeable on, it was to be expected. "Everyone has different tastes. Summer, the woman who taught me that little exercise, hated the taste of beer, but she liked wine, red wine especially. I typically go for hard liquor, but I didn't get used to it immediately. And my teammate Taiyang, he's the antithesis of Summer. Beer is his go-to drink. Hell, sometimes he brews his own."

"Dad does?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. Tai makes a hell of a good drink, I'll tell you that."

"Regardless, trying to convince these two to drink is incredibly improper," Weiss spoke up, motioning towards the pair of young men in the middle.

"So, what do you suggest we could start with, Qrow?"

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

"For starters, give beer a try. If the taste doesn't suit you, then we can move on to other drinks."

"Sweet," Jaune groaned, standing up and stretching. "Well, I'll be going. Got more than a gallon of hot water with my name on it."

"I agree," Oscar said, standing up as well. "I didn't really do anything, but that left me really tired."

Jaune stopped for a moment, looking up, then said aloud, "Yes, Pyrrha, I'm going to have a drink." He began to make his way out of the training room. "What do you mean? It's just one drink! And dad's let me try some before!" Silence. "I'm not going to have _that_ much!" Silence. "So what-?"

As the doors closed, silence fell over the room. Then, suddenly:

"Is… that what I usually look like?" Oscar asked, an eyebrow raised.

"No," Qrow responded. When Oscar turned to the grizzled Huntsman, he smirked. "He seems much more used to it."

"This is so... _weird_..." Nora whispered.


	17. The Remains of the Old War

**I probably should've put this one before 'The Arkos Equinox', but I suppose it's as good a place as is the last idea I had, though it turned into a little series in and of its own.  
**

 **Oh, and to 'dragon109': No, I** _ **meant**_ **that Jaune's aura is now half and half. You may have missed that I stated that Jaune's aura** _ **attuned**_ **to the remains of Pyrrha's inside him. Jaune's soul is no longer purely his own. His aura and soul absorbed Pyrrha's, taking on its color and characteristics.**

 **Oh, and this _will_ contain spoilers for the quest "The Second Dream" from Warframe, so you've been warned.**

* * *

"So, you mind explaining to us what exactly we're doing, Professor?" Ruby Rose asked as the Bullhead they were all on flew over the forests of Anima.

"Certainly, young lady," Glynda Goodwitch sighed, deciding they needed to know. After all, they had been selected by the headmaster to shadow her in this mission. Turning to the group at large, she immediately used the 'teacher mode' she was accustomed to using. "Listen up, all four of you. Mere hours ago, Professor Ozpin received a report that there was an unprecedented increase of activity near the upper sector of Anima, an area largely deserted due to the constant Grimm treks there. However, these aren't merely Grimm sightings, but spikes of energy readings unknown to us. As such, Beacon has dispatched Huntsmen and Huntresses to investigate this, alongside the top teams of third and fourth year, one of which is you, RWBY. Your sister team, Team PARN, is currently shadowing Professor Oobleck in his own expedition. Our objectives are to simply investigate the cause of this spike in activity and energy, and report back without making undue contact with the source."

Team RWBY nodded, understanding the situation and preparing themselves accordingly. This had been unexpected, but not unwelcome.

The flight only lasted for a few more minutes before the airship they were in began to slow down, but the pilot's next words confused them greatly.

 _"Erm, Professor Goodwitch? You mind looking over the side and telling me whether that city has always been there?"_

Blinking in confusion, the addressed woman strode over to the window of the airship and looked, whereupon her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in pure surprise.

"Professor Goodwitch? What's the matter?" Blake asked, taking the initiative by walking over. The rest of the team followed, looking out the window as well.

There, several hundred feet below them, were the ruins of what seemed to be an old city. It had many well-designed buildings, one of note being a large, cathedral-like building at the very center, and some of the architectural marvels had Weiss curious as to their origins. From what they could see, though, this city was in ruins by what looked to be the result of a recent attack.

"That's… that's impossible…" Goodwitch whispered.

"Professor, what's going on?" Ruby asked, the professor's sudden demeanor creeping her out.

"This city…" Goodwitch replied, her sight still taken by it. "It… I haven't seen it since… since I was a child."

"What?" Yang asked, bewildered. "How is that possible? It's clearly still here."

"No, no, you don't understand," Goodwitch said, waving away her argument. "It's not that I never came to see it. It's that I _couldn't_. Nobody could. The city itself disappeared _years_ ago."

The entire team's eyes widened at the implications of that sentence.

"N-Nobody _could_?" Weiss whispered. "Disappeared? As in, into thin air?"

"Exactly," the professor replied. "The Huntsman Academies of my time made many excursions to this place, but there were no signs left of it. For it to be back… just as it left…"

The wonder and slight fear in the woman's voice set the team on edge, the four of them preparing for the worst.

* * *

The Bullhead dropped them off at southern quadrant of the city. Now that they were in it, Team RWBY felt utterly desolate at the state of it. Buildings were in complete disrepair, with the only things helping them stay upright being massive vines that intertwined inside them, looking more like the tentacles of some underground creature. The air itself was matted with the feel of death, making even Professor Goodwitch shiver at the utter _wrongness_ of it.

As the group trekked further into the city, Goodwitch checked her scroll constantly, the energy-measuring application Ozpin had installed into it scanning the area for the energy that had been detected.

It wasn't until they arrived near the center of the city (the team having encountered nothing but fallen buildings throughout it) that the scroll finally picked up something.

Something massive.

"What the-?"

The question was hardly out of Goodwitch's lips when there was a sudden rumble around them, making the quintet struggle for balance. The buildings around them shook ominously, and further down the road, they could hear the unmistakable sound of collapsing structures.

"What's going on?!" Ruby asked, having stuck Crescent Rose's blade into the ground for support.

"I am not sure. Maintain your positions!" Goodwitch stressed.

The earthquake continued for a few more minutes before abating slowly. When it did, the team remained on alert, unsure as to what had caused it.

The possible cause became known moments later as a series of howls made themselves known to their ears.

"Beowolves!" Weiss yelled, attempting to find where they were.

The team split to cover the four cardinal directions, but were unable to find any trace of where the creatures may be coming from. That is, until the ground next to Yang suddenly exploded outward, sending the girl flying.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, turning to the creature that had hurt her sister. The sight of it, however, stopped her and her teammates short.

This was no Beowolf.

It was much, _much_ worse.

The creature in front of them was an aberration of flesh, twisted and mashed to form a quadruped being. It had broad shoulders, a thin body, and what seemed to be powerful claws where its feet ended, similar in overall appearance to a Beowolf but stockier.

But what was the worst for the team was the twisted, upside down, and clearly _human_ head hanging from the chest of the creature, its blank eyes staring at them.

The team froze, their minds horrified by the image presented to them. Their teacher, thankfully, wasn't as inexperienced and quickly killed it before it could do more than growl and paw the ground towards them.

"What…?" Ruby began.

"What in the nine hells was that?!" Yang exclaimed.

Before Goodwitch could think of an appropriate answer, the sound of guttural growls came from behind them. Ruby turned to the source, where she spotted another enemy approaching. This one was more humanoid in appearance, standing on two legs and having arms, but it still clearly showed its human origin, as its flesh was just as twisted as the first, quadruped monster. Whatever its face had been, it was now impossible to discern under the snaking swirls of skin that made up its head, and its body was a mixture of flesh, bone, and clothing. To make it even more unnerving, as soon as it spotted them, it made a loud growling sound and began running towards them, its gait uneven and unbalanced, treading like someone with a broken back.

Now slightly more prepared, Ruby forced herself to pull the trigger. With a squelch, what she assumed was its head popped off, and it fell to the ground in a heap, dissolving before their eyes moments later.

The team looked around, waiting for more enemies, but to their surprise, nothing else came. Blinking in stupefaction, Goodwitch checked her energy reader again, but the readings remained the same.

"These creatures aren't what we came here for," she reasoned aloud.

"What even are they?" Weiss asked.

"If you want my input? I'd say some kind of human experiment," Goodwitch inferred. "They look human enough, and it isn't the first time I have heard of such, though seeing it with my own eyes is a much different issue. That, and I don't think I've ever heard of any human experimentation that went as far as what we have seen."

RWBY accepted the explanation easily enough, and after a few moments of checking over their gear, the group continued further into the city.

As they finally arrived at what they assumed was the middle of the city, the sound of a _boom_ came from above them, startling them.

"What the…? I haven't called for extraction yet," Goodwitch said recognizing the sound of a Bullhead engine approaching.

"Erm, Professor… I don't think that's ours," Blake said, pointing upwards.

The group looked up together, now spotting the source. Appearing just above them, as if out of thin air, was a sleek Bullhead colored white and gold. It was slimmer than the standard type Beacon used, clearly meant for speed and maneuverability.

A rectangular area below it hissed, as if decompressing the air inside, then turned on an axle, allowing something, or someone, judging by the shape, to drop from the ship a few feet away from them. Once that was done, the ship once again disappeared, cloaking itself from their eyes. Presumably, it was flying off.

"Come on, let's investigate this," Goodwitch ordered, striding forward. RWBY followed rapidly.

As they approached the drop zone, Ruby was the first to realize that it was indeed a person, or so she assumed. She couldn't see any face from her distance, but with the general shape of it, she assumed it was a tall, somewhat muscular man.

When they finally cleared the mist that prevented the rest of them from seeing what it was, they all stopped in shock.

Standing in front of them, checking over its weapons, was what appeared to be someone in a battle suit. The skintight-looking suit was predominantly white, with golden accents on the chest, biceps, and thighs. The center of its back had minor protrusions, looking like a small mountain range, and there were two lines that curved over its shoulders, pulsing with light. The back of its head had what appeared to be spine-like hair, judging by the minor waving they were doing in the breeze.

The person paused in its inspection, turning to look at them. Or so they assumed.

Ruby now realized why she couldn't see any face. This person didn't have one showing at all. Instead, his or her face was covered by a mask or helmet of some sort that was attached to the suit, and which had a protrusion at the position where a person's nose would be. The helmet had a similar aesthetic and color design to the rest of the suit, but slightly more tribal.

"Reminds me of a dragon…" Ruby whispered to herself.

The two parties regarded each other, with the Beacon group unable to really tell what the person was thinking or intending. When it reached to its wrist and drew an object from it, however, they began to get an idea.

"Wait!" Goodwitch exclaimed, stopping the person. "We're not here to fight."

The person didn't respond or move, simply staring at them, or so they thought.

"Who are you?" Goodwitch asked.

The person didn't respond.

"Did you not hear me? Identify yourself!"

There was no verbal response, but Ruby noticed the person's grip tightened against what she now realized was the handle of some kind of weapon, likely due to Goodwitch's tone.

"Um, Professor? I don't think he can talk," Ruby said.

Goodwitch looked at her for a moment, then turned back to the unknown party. "Can you speak?"

The person shook his head.

"I see…"

The person suddenly jerked, as if hearing something, the sheathed his weapon and turned, running off further into the center of the city without any warning.

"Quick, let's follow him!" Weiss exclaimed, with the teacher nodding along.

Together, the group ran after the person, managing to catch up a few moments later. He gave no indication that he had noticed them, so they decided to simply tail him and see what he would do.

A problem came up moments later, with the Beacon team now realizing where the rest of their enemies had gone. An entire _battalion_ appeared from the mist several feet in front of the man, ranging from the quadrupeds, to the two-legged ones, to even newer variations, such as red versions of the latter.

Ruby raised Crescent Rose, intending to take out a few from her distance, but to her surprise, Goodwitch put a hand on the top of its muzzle and pushed it back down.

"Wait, Miss Rose," she insisted, watching the man carefully.

Together, the group watched as the man's stride continued onward, directly towards the group that had now spotted him and ran towards him. To their surprise, the man simply jumped above the first few runners, avoiding them easily and landing in the middle of a group of them. He raised his hand, and as the enemies turned to face him, a sword made of pure white energy materialized in his upraised hand.

Before the monsters around him could attack, the man turned his sword downward, stabbing it right into the ground.

To their utter shock, the area around the man glowed for a split second before spears of pure light erupted from the ground, spearing all of the enemies around him and killing them immediately. At least fifteen or twenty of the monsters were shoved into the air, some crashing into the buildings around them and remaining impaled there while others flew into the air and landed several feet away.

Pulling the energy blade out of the ground and dismissing it, the man turned to the rest of the monstrosities, which now appeared ready to fight the man. Reaching once again to his wrist, the man pulled out the same handle from before and extended his left hand, clenching that fist. What the group thought was just the sheath of the weapon suddenly extended to form a shield-like figure with some flowing crevices, which then erupted into pure white, flowing flames, which filled said crevices.

"Whoa… that is so _cool_ …" Ruby whispered to herself.

And the show wasn't over. The handle in the man's hand also erupted, forming a fire blade made of the same white-hot fire. A runner to his left ran forward, intending to ram him, but the man easily dodged and twisted behind the foe, slicing off its head with one well-placed strike.

That was the breaking of the dam, as the rest of the monstrosities ran forward simultaneously, intending to smother the man. And the man responded appropriately.

* * *

"Whoa… what is this place…?" Ruby asked in a breathy voice.

The quintet had followed the man to the cathedral-sized building in the far south area of the city. The man had gone in without stopping his charge, and Goodwitch had to wonder aloud what could be driving him to run so determinedly towards it.

Once they entered the building, however, all those thoughts had gone out the window.

The inside of the large building was even more of an architectural marvel than the outside city. Broken down by age it may have been, but they could still see the beautiful golden accents and curves along the creamy white walls of the inside. Everything around them was gilded, adding to the aristocratic air of the place. Even in ruins, it still held signs of a great era.

The man they were following stopped for none of that. In fact, the only thing that gave him temporary pause was the appearance of more enemies, but those were dispatched easily. He stopped for a moment to look around, then took a left and passed through a large doorway.

"Come on, or we'll lose him!" Blake insisted, running after him, with the rest of them following suit.

It was a harrowing chase. The man seemed to be either guessing on which way to go, or following some kind of internal map. He didn't stop at any crossways, nor did he hesitate to choose which doors to use. At one point, when they reached a large two-floor chamber, having exited at one of the balconies, the man simply crouched momentarily before performing a powerful bullet jump over to the other side, the backlash of which the quintet could feel in the air. They had quickly followed suit, not wanting to be left behind.

Finally, after several minutes of running, the man stopped at another doorway, this one much larger than the ones they had encountered previously. He seemed to be staring upwards at the door, his posture tense. Just as they slowed down a few feet away from him, he squared his shoulders and walked inside, with the Beacon group following.

Their mouths fell agape at the sight inside.

This chamber was much larger than the others they had been in. Large enough, in fact, to have a circular, five fall waterfall in the very center of it. The group looked up, trying to discern where the water was coming from, but other than a large, circular opening in the ceiling, they weren't successful.

The man walked down the stairs carefully, looking around the chamber as much as they did. As he reached the very bottom step, however, a sound similar to a deep gong rang around them, and the water falling from the ceiling began to shift slightly. Looking closer into it, Ruby could now see what appeared to be a single, snaking, vine-like climbing plant extending from the ceiling to the very bottom of the waterfall, wherever that may be. It was so difficult to see because it was damn near transparent, and the water masked it well.

Another deep gong sound rang out around them, startling the group. There was a slight rumble around them before the transparent vine began to withdraw upwards, with everyone staring at it in anticipation. Slowly, a large, golden, lotus-shaped form rose from the bottom of the pool, the water making no dent in its movement. The pieces surrounding the center of it gravitated downward in an arc, like a blooming flower, and the center of it moved forward, reaching the very edge of the pool as a section near the top of it opened up silently.

The females in the room gasped as they now understood this was some kind of throne or cathedra, as there was someone sitting there, unmoving. The person was wearing a full-body, black suit, with a large hood covering their entire head. The seat the person was in began to move forward, the bottom and back parts of the golden chair glowed with energy that seemed to be boosting it forward.

The seat finally reached the very edge of the pool, leaving itself floating above the ground. To their right, the suited man suddenly froze, as if being taken over by a seizure, and fell to the ground on his knees as the person on the seat fell from it like a ragdoll, slapping onto the ground and remaining there, face down and unmoving.

Silence reigned for a moment before Ruby, being the most impulsive one, suddenly ran forward, right towards the seemingly unconscious person.

"Miss Rose, wait!" Goodwitch tried to stop the girl, but she couldn't deny that the scene had shook her as well. Nodding at the rest of the team, the group followed the girl.

Ruby approached the seemingly unconscious person, carefully walking around the suited one. She tiptoed closer, just in case there was a trap of some kind, then knelt down by the person, examining them closely. The bodysuit gave nothing away, and the large head cover even less so. However, she could just barely see the person's body rise and fall, indicating breathing.

She reached out, placing a hand on the person's bicep to try and get them up, but as soon as her hand made contact, a resonance-like feeling shot through her body, as if she were standing just under a large bell, and the voice of a woman rang through her mind.

 _'Dream… not of what you are… but of what you want to be…'_

Ruby jerked and stepped back, directly into the arms of her sister.

"Ruby! Are you okay?" Yang asked, looking the girl over.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine…" Ruby said, but her gasping breaths and paler-than-usual face told otherwise. "What was that…?"

"What happened, Miss Rose?" Goodwitch asked.

"I heard… a voice… the moment I touched him…" Ruby explained haltingly.

"A voice?" Weiss asked. "What did it say?"

"It said-."

The sound of shuffling interrupted her. Together, the quintet looked over to the source.

The person wasn't unconscious anymore. Instead, he was struggling to stand, using what strength he had in his arms to pull himself over to the kneeling and unresponsive suited man. Eyes widening, Ruby walked towards him, stopping when the person turned towards her and tensed.

"It's okay," Ruby said, raising her hands. "I want to help you."

The person said nothing and remained tense for a moment, but then nodded and attempted to continue crawling over. Ruby carefully stepped forward and knelt, placing her shoulder underneath his armpit and helping him stand somewhat. Trotting over, she helped place him down next to the kneeling suited man, whereupon she stepped back at his command.

Eyed wide in wonder, the group watched as he placed a hand on the suited man's shoulder, where it started to glow with an ephemeral white energy. The energy began to flow over the suit's back, imbuing it with the very same energy. Before their eyes, the suit (for they now understood enough to realize that that was no actual man) stood and pulled the person into its arms, carrying him carefully as the person kept his left hand on the suit's back.

Goodwitch stepped forward, intending to ask a question or two, but before she could open her mouth, there was the sound of rushing air behind them. Turning quickly, the group was met with a terrifying sight.

Standing there, armor glowing, was humanoid suit much like the one they had been chasing. This one, however, seemed to be the very incarnation of death. It was larger and more muscular, and its suit was colored a deep black with dark red accents. Its helmet was more rounded in nature, with the front of it caving in as if the suit itself was absorbing it. Its armor was red in color, covering its chest and shoulders, as well as its back.

And in its right hand, with the center of it holding a red-colored core, was a double-bladed longsword, currently pointed directly at them.

Everyone froze momentarily, watching the newcomer with bated breath. The dark entity looked between them all, released a single breath…

… and charged.

Weiss grunted in pain as she was denoted the first to be attacked. Holding Myrtenaster in front of her to block the entity's attack was fruitless, and she could've sworn she heard her rapier groan in protest. The momentum of the attack sent her flying directly against the golden, flower-like seat, sending her to the ground gasping for air. A beep from her pocket announced her aura was already in the yellow zone.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling out Crescent Rose and firing three shots at the dark entity. To her shock, the sniper rounds bounced off of the suit's chest with nothing but minor glows to signal where they struck, not staggering the creature in the slightest. The entity turned towards her and tensed, preparing to dash, but it was forced to stop halfway as violet energy suddenly covered its being.

Looking behind her, Ruby's eyes widened as she looked at her professor, who was shaking and covered in sweat.

"I… can't... hold it…" Goodwitch groaned out, her struggle becoming apparent as she fell to her knees, her wand still pointed at the newcomer.

The entity seemed unable to move, but a moment later, and with an explosion of blue smoke, Goodwitch's ability disappeared from his body.

"What…?" Goodwitch gasped. "That's impossible… he dispelled my semblance?"

The teacher was hardly able to react as the creature suddenly appeared in front of her in another explosion of smoke, this time black colored. She brought up a shield in front of her with her semblance, which protected her as much as Myrtenaster protected Weiss when the entity swung its sword at her, sending her flying back.

Ruby and Blake hardly had any time to prepare before the creature was upon them. They attempted to pull off a Ladybug attack on it, but no matter which way they came, the creature would easily deflect its blows, slashing with its sword as if it weighted nothing. As Ruby came around with an overhead slash, it suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the throat, making her gasp as her air was cut off, then threw her down, where the ground shattered as she slammed into it.

Blake was just able to evade a slash to her face by using her clones, but to her dismay none of her attacks were getting through the person's defense. Realizing this was a battle she was unable to win, she allowed a shadow to be killed in her place and jumped back, intending to help Weiss.

"Not my sister, you bastard!" was the battle cry heard as Yang charged in, her fist primed for a powerful jab.

Instead, the girl's eyes widened as it landed directly on the creature's torso… and did absolutely nothing.

"What…?" she whispered, not believing her eyes. She pulled back for another punch, but was instead forced to duck as the entity swung at her head. Once again pulling back, she slammed a haymaker across its chest, but all that did was crack its chest armor and send her off balance.

Yang cried out in pain and anger when the entity grabbed her by her hair, pulling her up to look at her in the face. Her struggles to get free ceased as she looked at the mask in horror, not needing a face to realize what it was looking for. Her eyes shifted as she saw it raise its sword in the air.

However, another presence would come to her rescue.

The shadowy being stopped in its tracks as a wave of power seemed to flash over them all. Everyone there turned to the source, the person that was currently being carried by his battle suit. The dark entity tossed Yang behind it, leaving the girl to crash into a pillar, then walked over to the person, its sword hand tightening on the handle.

"No…" Ruby whispered, attempting to stand up.

The Beacon team watched with bated breath as the entity raised its sword to the person's face. The two seemed to begin a stare off, which made the females in the room shiver as they felt the anger coming from the dark one, while the person looked around momentarily as if looking for an escape route.

Before, suddenly, the feeling stopped.

The entity lowered its sword, turning away from the person and facing the pool he had come out of. It stepped forward quietly, but before it could get more than a few paces ahead, a voice rang out.

 ** _"You hesitate, Shadow, but remember your despair."_**

The females startled at the voice, which seemed to come out of nowhere. When the dark entity, or Shadow, raised its sword, however, they now knew just where it came from when the glowing red core flashed in time with the words coming from it.

The Shadow looked at the sword for a moment as it continued to speak.

 ** _"This is your only chance to make it_** **end _."_**

The Shadow brought up its unarmed hand, moving it this way and that as if seeing it for the first time. Some paces behind, the person also did the same. The similar movements made the Beacon quintet wonder just how similar these two were.

The Shadow shook its head momentarily, then sheathed its blade and continued walking away, rounding the pool the person had come out of. Some moments after, the core spoke again.

 ** _"Your hatred is too weak, Shadow. Mine is strong. My fragments will finish this."_**

The Shadow disappeared in a blast of black smoke, and with it, everything fell to silence.

Everyone in the room was frozen, unsure of what to do. In the end, the person was the one to first move, his suit beginning to walk around the pool. As he passed the quiet Blake and Weiss, he stopped and looked towards them, motioning with his head to follow him.

The girls all stood up, shaking away the pain brought on by The Shadow's attacks. Goodwitch made sure they were all okay, then nodded at the person, who nodded in return and continued to walk somewhere, his suit's stride purposeful.

Just as they exited the chamber, there was a flash of light as a pair of somethings appeared before them. Having sleek, semi-humanoid forms, the creatures looked like advanced battle robots, but something told the Beacon team these were not technological beings. They withdrew two long batons from their bodies, wielding them like staves, and moved in to attack.

Ruby and Weiss intercepted them, using scythe and rapier respectively to deflect the blows. The attacks felt like hitting a boulder, similar to The Shadow's strikes, but blunt in nature. And as they moved in and attempted to attack the creatures, they realized these things were heavily resilient. Their blades were hardly leaving a dent on them.

"Let me at 'em!" Yang exclaimed, prepping up her semblance. Ruby withdrew from her opponent, leaving it open, and Yang charged in, delivering a direct jab to the enemy's left torso area. There was a resounding boom as her punch made contact, but it hardly dented it. Yang, however, _felt_ the effect the punch had on the entity and knew that it could work.

The enemy swiped at her with its left baton, and Yang put up her right forearm to block. That proved to be a mistake, as the strike hit with enough force to send her flying, nearly breaking her arm, aura and all. Yang landed a few feet away, took a moment to power up her semblance, then charged in once again, delivering an even more powerful cross at the opposite spot of her first attack.

To her surprise, when her attack landed, it did the exact same amount of damage as before.

"What?"

The question was barely out of her lips when she was forced to duck under the entity's left baton swipe, the moment of which she used to get back into its personal area and punch it again. To her dismay, this punch seemed to have even less of an effect.

And as the battle continued, she found that to be a persistent situation.

Finally pulling back after her fifth punch did next to no damage, she called out, "I can't keep this up! It can adapt to damage!"

"What do you mean, Miss Xiao Long?" Goodwitch asked.

As Yang began to explain, Weiss and Blake withdrew from their own opponent, the latter having jumped in to help the heiress.

"We can attest to that," Blake spoke up, drawing the attention of the two blondes. "We were doing fairly well, but our strikes began to eventually have less and less effect on it."

Goodwitch looked at the two enemies, which were now preparing themselves for another pass at them. She then looked back at her team, who were staring back at her, waiting for her command.

A wave from the person's hand caught her attention.

"What is it?" she asked him.

As the others turned to the person, he waved at them to step back. Curious, the group hesitantly did so, their eyes switching between the person and the two enemies.

The person raised his hand, which was closed in a fist. As one of the entities broke off to approach the new contestant, the person's first suddenly began to glow with the same ephemeral light that had reconnected him to his suit. He opened the hand, aiming the palm at the enemy, and to the shock of the others, a pure white blast of light fired from his palm, striking the enemy directly at the point connecting its two pieces together.

The hand blast stopped the creature's charge dead, thought it attempted to continue regardless. Its body began to degrade as the hand blast tore through it, and within four seconds, the creature fell to the ground, unmoving.

The Beacon group stared at the destroyed enemy, thrown for a loop at the power the person possessed. The sound of a screech brought their attention back to him, but he pulled his hand away, which began to glow as if recharging.

"Team RWBY, distract the second one! He's our best chance to destroy them, but he's too weak to do so continuously!" Ruby commanded, drawing an impressed look from Goodwitch. The team leapt into action, interchanging positions to land blows at the second creature and distract it from the one who could best destroy them.

Goodwitch kept an eye on the person, watching as his hand slowly stopped glowing, and when he gave her a thumbs up, she nodded and called out, "Team, fall back!"

RWBY did so immediately, with Weiss deflecting a blow from its left baton and leaving it open to the attack.

The person splayed his palm out at it once again, and another blast of energy discharged from it, making just as short work of it as it did of the last.

* * *

Eventually, after destroying six more of those fighters, the team made it to an outcropping on the other side of the cathedral, which overlooked the rest of the forest. There, the person stopped and looked up. When the Beacon team followed his sight with theirs, the very same sleek Bullhead from earlier appeared, allowing him and his battle suit to board.

"Wait!" Ruby called out, stopping him. When he turned back, she asked, "Can… can we come with you?" As everyone stared at the girl in surprise, the person included, she elaborated. "You're still too weak to go off on your own! If you can't even walk on your own, you might need help after you leave!"

The person stared at Ruby for a little longer, making her fidget in place, then turned to Goodwitch. The professor understood that he knew that she was the one in charge here, and while she wanted nothing more than to go home, she understood Ruby's sentiment.

"I concur," the woman said, startling the rest of RWBY. "Will you allow us to accompany you?"

The person looked down, thinking it over, then finally nodded. As his ship stopped and floated at a distance close enough that he could board it, Goodwitch pulled out her scroll and signaled for extraction.

As soon as the person had boarded his own Bullhead, the Beacon one appeared to their left, slowing down to float alongside the person's. The Beacon team approached it, jumping onboard, and while the RWBY girls got themselves situated, Goodwitch walked up to the cockpit and spoke with the pilot.

* * *

The person's ship led them to an area very high up in the sky that seemed to be entirely empty. For a moment, Goodwitch feared they were flying into a trap, but that thought died moments later as something else appeared in the sky out of nowhere.

A much larger, carrier Bullhead, seemingly personalized to the person's tastes.

Goodwitch's mouth fell open alongside the pilot's at the sight of it. Their radar and other devices had picked up not a single trace of the vessel. For all intents and purposes, this ship had the most powerful cloaking device they had ever known.

The ship boarded through a small area on the bottom of the vessel, with Goodwitch commanding the pilot to follow suit.

* * *

As they entered the ship, they realized the inside of it was much larger than the outside would have suggested. It had a very modern style, despite what they first thought, and housed several interesting areas, though they stayed away from a door that seemed to be covered with some sort of organic matter.

To Ruby's delight, as they approached the center of the vessel, there was a bark from up ahead, and a white-furred dog pup suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Oh my gosh, it's adorable!" Ruby squealed, running forward. She immediately stopped, however, when the dog growled at her, though it was so small and squeaky that it still sounded adorable. "Oh, no, no, we're friendly!"

The dog, naturally, didn't understand her, and it wasn't until the sound of decompressing air reached their ears that it stopped growling. Instead, it turned towards the source, where the person they had been following appeared at the top of a descending ramp that led to the front of the ship, still being carried by his battle suit.

"Oh, there you are," Goodwitch said, walking forward. "What shall we do now?"

The person looked at them, then motioned for them to hang back and headed to the very back of the ship.

As the doors opened, the Beacon group was awed to see a rather large room inside it, with what appeared to be a throne-like seat at the very back. Behind that seat were multiple transparent and thick vines, with Ruby recognizing them as the very same kind she had seen holding the person's golden seat back at the ruined cathedral. The person walked into the room, with the Beacon team following, but they had hardly made it five steps in when there was an explosion of smoke ahead and The Shadow reappeared, blocking their path.

"What?! How did he get here?!" Weiss exclaimed.

 ** _"Shadow, only the Arc's death will end your despair,"_** the same voice from earlier rang out, and The Shadow responded, disappearing from sight and reappearing to the left of the seat, floating in the air. It swung its blade towards them, and a wave of energy flew towards them. The Beacon team prepared themselves to dodge it, but the person, now identified as the Arc, didn't, instead raising their hand and firing a short blast through the wave that dissipated it. He began to walk forward as Shadow disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the seat, firing yet another wave at him.

 ** _"Stop him, Shadow. Do not let the child's power rejoin the sky!"_**

The Arc dissipated the wave the same way, but the Shadow's third wave was too fast for him. Thankfully, when the wave struck, he was merely pushed back. Now understanding what the Arc's plan was, the Beacon team acted, intending to help out. Ruby stayed behind, firing at the Shadow in hopes of distracting it, while Weiss moved forward and used her glyphs to help dispel energy waves that the Arc couldn't reach in time.

With a few steps, the Arc made it to the front of the seat, whereupon Shadow disappeared for the moment. A spherical section of the seat's upper area opened up, revealing what seemed to them as a pale blue Dust crystal. He splayed his palm towards it and blasted it with the energy within him, the crystal glowing in response.

Suddenly, it erupted with power, sending him, and Weiss flying back. While he landed without a problem, Weiss was unprepared and slammed into the side of the room, the rest of her aura falling to dangerous levels. Knowing she was out of the fight, she decided to stick this one out and tagged in Blake.

The Shadow once again appeared, seeming to get more determined. As Arc began to walk forward once again, Blake worked to help intercept the energy waves. These, however, were more powerful than the last waves, and after the first clone died without stopping the wave it was meant for, she realized she would have to put all her power into these.

Focusing, she drew as much of her aura as she could and began to create more solid clones, with the Arc helping her manage her aura by destroying as many of the waves as he could as he walked. When he finally arrived once again at the crystal, he wasted no time in blasting it once again. And just like before, after a few moments, it erupted with energy, sending him flying back.

Having used up most of her aura in blocking the waves, Blake jumped back and switched out with Yang, who worked alongside Goodwitch to block the rest of the waves. Shadow was truly mad now, firing energy waves faster than they could sometimes follow, but what they didn't block, Arc destroyed, and together, he was able to reach the seat once more and blast it.

This time, the energy eruption was much stronger than the last two, sending them all flying back. All five of the females slammed into the sides of the room, with Blake and Weiss nearly falling unconscious, while the Arc was thrown from his companion and sent to the ground. As they all looked up from their positions, Arc attempted to get back to his battle suit, but the next moment, Shadow reappeared like a ghost, startling them all and making the Arc jerk back in fear. They watched as the Shadow stood above the person's battle suit, looking at the Arc with what they knew was hatred.

 ** _"No sense, no self, no death…"_** the disembodied voice spoke as Shadow poked the unmoving battle suit with its sword. **_"Just a metal puppet, dangling on Arc strings. Only their death… will end your despair."_**

With his sight still focused on the Arc, the Shadow pulled back and sickeningly slammed his sword into the battle suit's body, completely piercing through it and burying it up to the hilt. Leaving the sword there, the Shadow walked forward, his gaze never leaving the shaking Arc.

"Not again…" Ruby groaned, feebly pulling up her Crescent Rose. She attempted to fire a shot at the Shadow, but the recoil nearly ripped the weapon from her weak hands, and the shot ricocheted from the Shadow's body like it was nothing. "No…"

 ** _"All you dread-long life, you've waited for this moment. But you're asking yourself... Was I one of these wretched things?"_**

The deep, disembodied voice shook them all, and the sight of the Shadow kneeling in front of the shaking Arc and staring at him was as fearful as they were sure it intended to be.

The Shadow suddenly reached forward, his hand wrapping around the Arc's throat and lifting him from the ground.

 ** _"You know the answer. You still hate them... you still hate... yourself."_**

The Arc struggled in the Shadow's grip, while around them, the Beacon team could do nothing but watch in despair.

 ** _"What is this…?"_**

The Beacon team and the Shadow turned together to the source, where the disembodied voice's tone had changed.

To their shock, the battle suit was no longer unmoving. It had wrapped its hands around the two curves that circled the red core of the sword, and judging by its struggles, it was attempting to pull the sword from itself.

Shadow hissed and dropped the Arc, who fell to the ground and attempted weakly to stand. The dark entity walked towards the struggling suit slowly, but before it could reach it, there was a sudden blast of energy from the sword that struck it, making Shadow glow and curl into itself.

 ** _"Shadow…!"_**

As the voice's concern grew to higher levels, so did the struggles of the suit.

 ** _"Protect… me-!"_**

Cutting off its plea for help, the suit pulled one final time, and with a powerful glow, the sword snapped in two, with the upper half cutting cleanly out of the suit and landing at Yang's feet. The remaining half of the sword glowed, sending waves of energy into the air around them. Goodwitch's scroll began to beep furiously as the energy reader in it overloaded from the massive amounts of energy. All of it began coalescing into the Shadow, who curled into itself further as it was seemingly overloaded.

With a sudden, hissed cry, it released the energy, blinding them all.

* * *

When sight finally returned to Goodwitch, she blearily looked around. She felt like she could've slept for days, and her eyes had a hard time concentrating.

When the world finally blurred together, she realized the Shadow was gone. However, the Arc was lying on the ground, unmoving once more.

"No…!" she exclaimed weakly, forcing herself to stand up as the others finally came around. RWBY watched with bated breath as their teacher walked forward and shakily dropped to her knees next to the Arc, using the remains of her aura to use her semblance and turn him around.

The head covering he was wearing fell off at the movement, loosened by the multitude of events that had happened, and with it, the Arc's face was revealed, drawing gasps from all around them.

This… this was no more than a _boy_.

A pale, almost aristocratic face greeted them, framed by long, bright blonde hair that reached his shoulders. He had fine features like Weiss, but had two long scars across his face: one curving from the center of his forehead to just under his eye, wrapping around it; and another going from his left cheek to the bottom of his jaw.

The young man looked tense even in his unconscious state, as his eyes were tightly shut and his teeth were gnashed together. Goodwitch would go so far as to say he was having a nightmare, and after what she had just witnessed, she might've been right.

The sound of a hissing door startled them, with Goodwitch turning to shakily point her wand at the doorway. To her surprise, and that of RWBY, at the door was standing a tall woman, wearing a long, flowing robe of a deep silver color. Her upper face was covered by a helmet resembling a flower, which had several cable-like vines flowing from the back like hair.

"Thank you, all of you," she spoke, looking around at the group. Her voice sounded angelic, with a minor echo in the tone. "You have my deepest gratitude for helping protect my child."

The group stared at her in stupefaction.

"Child…?" Weiss asked blankly.

"Yes," the woman responded, walking forward. Her steps made no noise, as if she were a ghost. "This young man has been through much… from his childhood… to his time in stasis. It is one of the many regrets I have, but the past cannot be changed. Now, we must do what we can. Please, allow me to finish this."

Goodwitch nodded, standing and stepping back. The woman knelt by the unconscious young man, picking him up in a bridal carry. She walked calmly to the large seat they had worked so hard to power, which had opened up with the final empowerment. Standing next to it, she sighed as a blue energy covered the young man, making him float over and land right on the seat. The bottom of the seat closed around his lower half, and with a single hiss denoting its closure and a blast of energy ruffling them all, the young man's eyes finally opened.

Team RWBY and Goodwitch were met by blue eyes of the deepest shade they had ever seen, which were glowing slightly.

The young man looked around, gazing at each of the women in turn, then looked at his own hands, flexing them as if for the first time. Finally, he looked up to the one person next to him.

"My child… so beautiful to behold…" the woman said, her voice low. "How do you feel?"

"I…" the young man hesitated, looking down at his battle suit momentarily. He had an oddly deep voice for being someone that looked the same age as Weiss, Blake, or Yang. "I'm confused… I thought I was…"

He didn't finish, but they could understand his meaning.

"I know… Forgive me. This is who you really are," the woman said softly. "An Arc. More than human, but once a child like any other." She paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you remember your name?"

The boy hesitated, but eventually said, "It's… Jaune…"

"Good," the woman nodded along. "What else do you remember?"

Jaune closed his eyes, his mouth twitching as he struggled to remember. "I remember… the soft lines of a hand… my mother's, I think… We were watching the stars as we flew towards Mantle… She was… afraid."

"Mantle?" Ruby asked in a low voice, drawing the other's attention. Realizing she was suddenly the center of attention, she shrunk back. "Sorry…"

The others smiled at her shy act, and the unknown woman decided to answer her. "Mantle is the place you now know as Atlas, child. Back in my time, it was known as such."

Ruby nodded shyly, and the woman turned back to Jaune. "Memories, from your time aboard the Zariman Ten Zero… before the Void Dust Accident."

"Void Dust…?" Weiss whispered in awe. She had heard the stories of it, of how it had been an experiment back in the days of the Great War. From what she had read and heard, it was considered an utter failure at the time, though she was never able to find out _why_.

"It was years before that airship was recovered, floating endlessly above the waters between Mantle and Anima. All of the crew was gone… except the children."

Jaune looked down momentarily, sorting his thoughts. "We were just kids… but they were afraid… afraid of what we could do. When they tried to treat us like rats… I stood up to them. I wasn't going to let them divide us after what we'd been through."

"You were so brave… but the Mantle leaders were afraid of you," the woman continued. "The Void Dust had changed you and you couldn't control it, no one could. They were about to destroy the orphans of Ten Zero, but Vervada... she loved you, she found a way..."

Behind her, the Beacon group watched with bated breath. This… was like a scene from a movie, something they couldn't look away from.

"She confronted them even when she knew what it would cost her," Jaune responded to the woman's words, his mouth curling slowly into a wistful smile. "Blinded and sick by her work with us... yet in her heart, stronger than all of us."

"The Mantle Council murdered Vervada." The woman's tone dropped an octave as she spat that piece of information out. "They used her work to create 'Transference'. Your mind - projected into a surrogate, strong enough to withstand your power. It felt like waking up, but it was just a lucid - second dream."

Jaune closed his eyes as the woman said that, a pained expression crossing his face, which was replaced moments later by a more determined expression. "It was a shadow underneath what we did. That sensation of being a victim, of being helpless… never did I want to see that again. I took up the sword to protect those in need."

"And so you became the Arc, serving Mantle... but bound by honor. As the Arc grew, they founded great schools. The Arc Ways. Do you remember yours?"

"Yes…" Jaune whispered. "I remember a mountain, breaking the sky. The Way of Unairu. We pushed ourselves to outlast the enemy, to withstand all aggression without bending."

"Unairu will be your focus, then," the woman smiled. "But… we have so much more to do. Here in the Orbiter, Transference will be even stronger. Command the Warframes... Make whole, this shattered world you've been given. Are you ready, Jaune?"

"Yes, Artemis… I am."


	18. Emotions

**A/N and an Omake at the bottom.**

It was the morning of the dance at Beacon Academy, and in team RWBY's dorm room, the atmosphere was… rather subdued, actually.

The source of such being the resident Ice Queen of the place.

As she woke up, Ruby Rose looked over to her Beacon partner, her eyes softening. The girl was frowning intensely at her reflection in the mirror, as if looking for every imperfection on her complexion, inside and out. She knew why, of course. It wasn't difficult to realize the reason when she had, the night before, left to ask Neptune Vasilias to the dance and returned with less than stellar results. The rest of the team had figured it out fairly quickly, but due to the Schnee's insistence, had not pursued the matter.

A knock on the door broke Ruby's train of thought, drawing the attention of everyone.

"I'll get it," Ruby called out, hopping off her bunk and heading for the door.

Sitting at the dresser, Weiss watched with minor interest as Ruby headed for the door. A glance behind and to her right showed her Blake already reading one of her novels quietly and Yang just starting to come about, stretching this way and that.

"Hello? Oh, hey… J-Jaune?"

"Hey, Ruby!" Jaune's voice came from the other side, drawing everyone's attention, if sluggishly for some. "Mind if I come in? It's really important!"

"Uh, s-sure, but-?"

"Great, thanks!"

The rest of the girls turned as the leader of JNPR stumbled into the room, passing a shocked Ruby. The reason for her hesitance became clear when they finally beheld him, leaving them in shocked silence as well.

For the usually blonde young man's hair and eyes were both colored a deep pink.

The former blonde didn't seem too phased by their confused silence and quickly zeroed in on his person of interest.

"Weiss!" he exclaimed, he voice sounding oddly cheery and… off, as if it had some kind of echo. "Please, I _need_ to say something." Suddenly, he knelt in front of the confused heiress, much like the knight he wanted to become. "I… I know that I've made a complete fool of myself lately! I realize that now, and I'm sorry for that, but I just didn't know what to really say to talk to you! I wanted to put up this macho front at first, but that was a stupid idea in hindsight. Then I wanted to try and impress you, but I was an awkward idiot and messed it all up and, well, I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to say that I l-!"

The pink-haired young man's words were cut short by the sudden slam of the door, drawing the attention of everyone and throwing RWBY for another loop.

For there, standing at the door, was Jaune Arc as well, although _this_ one had gray hair and equally gray eyes. There was also something off about this one, though none of RWBY couldn't immediately tell what.

"What the fuck…?" Yang whispered.

The gray Arc's eyes immediately zeroed in on the pink-haired imposter, who stared at him with wide, scared eyes. Striding forward, gray-Jaune stopped just in front of pink-Jaune, then suddenly reached out and grabbed pink-Jaune by the throat, lifting him up almost effortlessly.

And that's when the team realized what was wrong with this Jaune. His gray eyes were empty, cold, and lifeless, and his stance was calm and entirely _too_ relaxed, nothing like the eyes or demeanor of the Jaune they had all come to know.

Not at all mindful of the copy that was clawing at his hand desperately, gray-Jaune looked around the room, saying, "Sorry about this, girls. Hope this wasn't too disturbing a wake-up call."

With team RWBY still gazing at the pair in utter bewilderment, gray-Jaune turned around and walked out of the room, still dragging his pink copy by the throat and closing the door with nary a sound.

Silence reigned for a few precious moments in the dorm room, then there was a sudden mad scramble as the four of them opened the door and immediately crossed over to the JNPR dorm, piling into the room together in time to watch gray-Jaune tie pink-Jaune to a chair, with Nora watching from a corner with her hammer in hand.

"- thought I made it clear to you to stay here," gray-Jaune was saying.

"You can't keep me here, and you know I'm right! I have to tell her the truth!" pink-Jaune exclaimed.

"That's not your choice. You're a part of me, and I'm not letting you make a fool of me anymore than I already have," gray-Jaune responded stoically.

"Jauney, we've got company," Nora suddenly said, looking directly at the dogpiled team RWBY at the door.

Jaune turned, looking at the group with a raised eyebrow. RWBY stared right back, their eyes sometimes flitting over to the struggling pink-Jaune.

"Weiss! Please, help!" pink-Jaune exclaimed, looking directly at the heiress with pleading eyes.

Gray-Jaune rolled his eyes, reaching behind him and grabbing a roll of duct tape, which he quickly used to shut pink-Jaune's mouth. "That's enough out of you."

"Erm… Jaune…?" Ruby dared to ask, her voice hesitant.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"… What's going on?"

Gray-Jaune stared at RWBY for a short amount of time, then sighed and motioned for them to get up, which they quickly did.

"Would you believe me if I said I'm not entirely sure?" gray-Jaune responded. "I just woke up this morning, and there I was, looking into a pink-tinted mirror, and with sporting a new hair and eye color. Apparently, this love-struck idiot is me… sort of."

Before anyone could ask anything else, Jaune's scroll suddenly went off. Pulling it out, he said, "Pyrrha, did you find anything?"

 _"Yes, I found you,"_ Pyrrha responded. _"In training room three. You have red hair and eyes."_

"Great… I'll be right there," Jaune muttered, closing the call and heading to the door. "Nora, keep an eye on Romeo, please."

"Will do, Fearless Leader!" Nora saluted.

RWBY parted to let Jaune through. When he was outside, however, he turned back and looked at the team, asking, "You want to come along?"

The girls looked between themselves, then quickly nodded and followed him.

Reaching the training room, RWBY and Jaune were met with Pyrrha just outside. The redhead was leaning by the door, a troubled look on her face. The weight on her expression lightened when she spotted her team leader, however.

"Jaune," she called out. When the group approached, she continued, "He's inside. I didn't want to stay too long inside, however. Some of the things he said… well…"

"What?" Jaune asked.

"It's best you see it for yourself."

Jaune nodded and entered, looking around the room and immediately spotting his redheaded and red-eyed copy by the boxing ring. Red-Jaune was going off on a punching bag, but gray-Jaune and the rest of them immediately noticed a clear distinction: he wasn't wearing gloves, as denoted by his bloody knuckles.

As the group approached, they were able to hear what red-Jaune was saying, and understood what Pyrrha meant.

"Too-weak… Liability… Dragging-others-down… Shouldn't-be-here… Stupid… Idiot… Failure… Disappointment…"

Each word was accompanied with a punch, and judging by the sweat that covered him, red-Jaune had been at this for a while now.

His next punch never landed, courtesy of the hand that had snatched his wrist and stopped him and his tirade.

"I think that's enough," gray-Jaune stated, holding his copy's hand tightly.

Red eyes locked onto gray ones.

"The hell it is," red-Jaune retorted, his voice sounding just as distorted as pink-Jaune's. But while pink-Jaune's voice was filled with happiness, this copy's was full of anger and malice. "You… You…!"

Gray-Jaune raised his left arm, blocking a punch that was headed for his face. He was unable to block the hook that came afterwards, however, which snapped his head to the left.

"What the hell are you doing?!" red-Jaune roared, changing the target of his punches. "You, a failure and a cheat! Why are you still here?!"

Gray-Jaune wasn't able to respond, having been caught in the stomach by a knee and then an uppercut that sent him onto his back.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha and Ruby called out simultaneously, rushing to him, but a raised hand from him stopped them short.

"Don't interfere," he said shortly, though he was then cut off as his red copy landed on his chest, pinning him to the floor.

"What, not going to let them save you, like they always have to?!" red-Jaune yelled, slamming a fist into gray-Jaune's face. "Look at you! You came here without knowing anything about fighting, Grimm, or even Aura, and you knew that! How much more presumptuous could you be?!"

Gray-Jaune attempted to block, but any defense he put up was quickly batted aside by the incensed copy.

"Why did you come here, Jaune?!" red-Jaune roared, stopping his constant barrage for a moment. "Tell me! Why did you come to Beacon Academy?!"

Gray-Jaune stared up at his copy, his face purpling from the punches and his nose starting to bleed. "I wanted to be a hero…"

"And just _what_ have you done to achieve that?!" red-Jaune responded, punching the original Jaune once more. "You let Cardin bully you around! You've taken up so much of Pyrrha's time! You constantly try and fail to be a Casanova! Is that why you came here, Jaune?! Is that why you decided to cheat your way into this academy?!"

Finally, the red copy's punches slowed down, until he remained sitting on the original's chest, his own chest heaving at the effort he had made.

"I know…" gray-Jaune said softly. "I understand."

"I can't even cry, you know," red-Jaune stated, his eyes narrowed. "I don't have that emotion. That one's elsewhere. All I have is this… rage inside me… at you… at myself…"

"Because I haven't done enough. I know, I've beat myself up about it every night," gray-Jaune responded, forcing himself up. "Do you feel better now?"

"No," red-Jaune responded. "In fact, I feel worse. I just want to get rid of all of this…"

As he spoke, the color of red-Jaune's eyes and hair dimmed, going from an angry red to a more burgundy color. He looked up momentarily, gazing upon the shocked RWBY and Pyrrha. His hair and eyes briefly flashed brightly as he looked upon Weiss, but he forced himself to look away, and they dimmed once more.

"I'm so confused and angry," red-Jaune said. "I don't know why we're still here. You don't belong here, Jaune. You know that!"

The girls looked from the red copy to the original in surprise and fear, and were dismayed to note that gray-Jaune simply closed his eyes and nodded.

"I know," was all he said.

"So why?!" red-Jaune exclaimed, grabbing gray-Jaune by the throat much like the original had done to pink-Jaune earlier, only with much more emotion. "Why are you still here?! Why do you continue to put yourself through this?! Don't you realize what could happen?!"

Struggling for breath, gray-Jaune nodded and said in a raspy voice, "Because… I have to… I've already decided… I would see this through… to the end…"

"This won't last," red-Jaune quickly rebuffed him. "You're inexperienced, weak, and a liability to everyone here! Eventually, you _will_ cause the death of one of your friends! Then what?!"

Gray-Jaune's eyes widened at his words, his own hair and eye colors brightening into a more light gray color, and he finally reacted physically, throwing out a knee that landed on red-Jaune's stomach and caused him to falter and bend over. Ripping the hand that was at his throat away, he elbowed red-Jaune on the back, making the copy fall to the floor, then knelt on red-Jaune's back and twisted his arm against his back.

"I don't know, honestly," gray-Jaune responded, strain in his voice as he struggled to hold his copy down. "But I won't stop. Not now. I've already decided I would see it through."

"You'd continue to struggle, even when you know it's pointless and dangerous?" red-Jaune said, turning his head enough to stare at his original.

"Yes. I gave my word… and an Arc never goes back on his word."

Red-Jaune slowly stopped struggling, his color once again lowering in intensity. Finally, he snorted and 'tapped out', whereupon the original let him up. The two stared at each other for a few moments, with RWBY and Pyrrha staring worriedly, then finally nodded at each other.

Red-Jaune looked over to where the girls were standing, and his eyes softened slightly. Looking back at gray-Jaune, he nodded and said, "I understand why you're doing it… so I won't say anything more. But… I needed to let that out."

"I know… and I know you're still pent up. Go on, you've done enough to that poor bag," gray-Jaune said.

Red-Jaune snorted. "Yeah, well, I'll be you-know-where. Once you finally get why this is happening, you know who to call."

Gray-Jaune smiled wryly, the only real emotion he had let show since this ordeal had started, and together, he and RWBYP watched as red-Jaune left the room. Silence reigned for a few moments, then Jaune sighed, his colors darkening back to their stoic gray, and began walking to the door.

"Well, I hope that's that…"

"Jaune, wait," Pyrrha said, stopping him. The gray young man looked back at her, an eyebrow raised. "Was… I mean… What he said, was it true?"

"Do you mean to ask if I feel like I don't belong at this school, that I'm a failure, and that I have the feeling I'm going to get one or all of you killed someday due to my stupidity?" Jaune returned bluntly. Pyrrha blinked, then hesitantly nodded, making Jaune sigh. "… Do you want me to be honest?"

That was enough of an answer.

"But, why?" Ruby asked, walking up to him. "Jaune… You're-,"

"If you're going to say that I'm a good guy, that I'm doing fine, or that I have nothing to worry about, please Ruby… don't," Jaune interrupted her. Seeing her jerk back, he sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Those would be platitudes, and while you may believe them, I wouldn't, trust me. You've given me good advice before, Ruby, and I appreciate it, but right now, I have a personal goal of my own. Until I reach that… I can't consciously accept your words."

Ruby sighed sadly and nodded, but to Jaune's surprise, she then looked up with determined eyes. "Then I'll help you instead."

" _Pardon moi_?" Jaune asked, blinking.

"I'll help you train, just like Pyrrha does," Ruby stated.

Jaune blinked a little more, then, to the rest of the girls' surprise, he laughed and pulled Ruby in for a hug, making the girl let out an 'eep'. "You just never cease to surprise me, Ruby Rose," Jaune chuckled, letting her go but holding her by her shoulders. "But don't you have your own team to be with? I couldn't consciously-,"

"I'll give her a hand," Yang suddenly spoke up, walking up to the pair and wrapping an arm around Jaune's shoulders. When Jaune looked at her, he was surprised to see a very caring look in her eyes. "I'm sure with three of us helping you out, you'll have nothing to worry about, huh, Lover Boy?"

Jaune blinked, then sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't need pity, Yang."

"Good, because I'm not giving you any," Yang responded easily. "I'm going to give you a hell of a hard time. It's just helping out a classmate, right?"

Jaune looked at her again, then looked between Ruby's hopeful look and Pyrrha's unsure expression, and finally smiled wryly. "Thank you."

The girls nodded back, smiling in return. He turned and began walking outside, but another voice stopped him once again.

"Wait, Jaune," Blake, surprisingly, spoke up. "I'm curious. Where is this 'you-know-where' the other Jaune mentioned?"

Jaune smirked. "Oh, that? Nowhere special…"

Upon returning to JNPR's room, the group was surprised to see a knocked out pink-Jaune on the chair gray-Jaune had left him in, alongside a snoozing Nora leaning against him.

Eyes narrowed, gray-Jaune stepped forward and cleared his throat.

At the same time, Pyrrha hurriedly covered her ears.

RWBY was a little too late.

 **"And just what is going on here?!"**

Nora sprang up like a mini-Deathstalker had pinched her buttocks, blasting directly upwards and promptly bouncing off the ceiling with her head, ending up landing in a crumpled heap next to the unconscious pink-Jaune.

"Owwww…"

Jaune cleared his throat once more, looking back momentarily to see Pyrrha giving him a thumbs-up and a smile, and team RWBY's heads shaking from the volume.

At his cough, Nora immediately sprang up and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"Nora… care to explain why I'm unconscious and you were sleeping?"

"Yes, sir! Your pink copy attempted to try and convince me to undo his restraints, and I declined! He then started to recite some kind of song, and while it did sound nice, I still declined! And then he started to recite poetry, whereupon I realized he was trying to charm me and promptly knocked him unconscious with my hammer! Without him speaking, however, I quickly grew bored and fell asleep, sir!"

Jaune palmed his face. "Maybe Casanova was a fairly good assessment after all… and poetry?! I haven't even read poetry since I was twelve…"

"Was it good, at least?" Pyrrha asked Nora.

"Actually, yes. It was very charming," Nora said thoughtfully. "Nice verses, well-paced, and sounded pleasant."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, but eventually just sighed. "Alright, well, we dealt with another Jaune. A pretty angry Jaune, too. So, let's see if we can pool what we know and figure things out."

The rest of them nodded and walked up to him.

"First things first, the most obvious part: these copies of me seem to be linked to my emotions. For one, I can hardly feel my own, and I guess my color scheme reflects that. For another, their mannerisms seem pretty out there. RWBY?" Jaune turned to the team. "What did Mr. Casanova over here act like when he went to you?"

"Well, he went straight for Weiss-cream and knelt in front of her like he was about to propose to her," Yang said, chuckling at the memory.

"Yeah, and he was saying a lot of stuff like how he was being dumb before and how he was awkward. You kinda cut him off halfway, though," Ruby continued.

Jaune looked at Weiss for confirmation. The girl nodded, her eyes not giving anything away.

"Hmm… Sounds like this Jaune's the 'Love' emotion, or something similar," Jaune mused, rubbing his chin and missing the looks the girls gave each other. "And by all accounts, what with what happened a few minutes ago, Hothead was probably 'Anger'." Jaune's mutters tapered off into whispers that the others couldn't catch, but eventually, he looked up. "I think I have a good idea of what is happening, but I don't want to put it to work yet. If I'm right, though, there should be one more emotion left to find."

"What would that be?" Blake asked.

"Melancholy."

"What? Why that?" Pyrrha asked in a worried tone.

"The 'why' can wait. If it's that, then I have a good idea where it might be…"

After extracting a promise from Nora that she wouldn't doze off again, and letting RWBY get changed into clothes that weren't pajamas, Jaune led the group out of the school and alongside one of the forest paths near the outskirts of it. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, even avoiding tree roots and path dips that made the rest of them trip.

"Jaune, where are we going?" Ruby asked.

"We're not far, don't worry," Jaune responded, not quite answering the question. "We should be hearing it soon…"

What 'it' was became apparent as a sound came from in front of them.

"… Is that a guitar?" Yang asked.

Jaune nodded. "Yep. And it means I'm completely right."

The group stopped there, content to listen for the moment. The notes were slow and methodical, and they were indeed as melancholic as Jaune had predicted.

"It sounds almost… lonely…" Weiss whispered, her voice reaching everyone nonetheless.

"It is…" Jaune responded, his eyes closed. "I remember it; I composed it almost two years ago. It's a short loop, but it was all I could do back then."

"But, why did you make it in the first place?" Pyrrha asked, walking up to stand next to Jaune and looking at him with worry.

Jaune sighed. "I… was a pretty lonely kid back in my hometown. Being the youngest of eight siblings, and the only boy, I was super protected by my family. It was almost to the point where they wouldn't let me walk out of the house unless I was escorted by one of my sisters, or one of my parents. It made it difficult to make friends, and even then, the ones I made never lasted long. Most of the time, I was used to get closer to one of my sisters. Whenever I wasn't with my family, I felt rather… alone in the world. My mom had the idea on my fourteenth birthday to get me a guitar, so I decided to make the most of it and began practicing it on my fifteenth. And, well… that's just the result of it."

The group remained there, listening for just a few moments, until Jaune finally shook off the feeling and continued walking, with the girls following. Eventually, the group walked past the edge of the forest, whereupon RWBY and Pyrrha stopped completely.

They were currently standing at the edge of a cliff, which overlooked the city of Vale and the lake that sat between it and the mountain Beacon Academy resided on. With the sun all the way up in the sky, the view was quite amazing to see, but the girls knew that during times like sunrise and sunset, it would likely be even more amazing.

The girls followed Jaune's line of sight, whereupon they realized where the guitar playing was coming from. Sitting with his back to a tree that was near the very edge of the cliff, with his legs dangling over the edge, was a copy of Jaune with blue hair a shade or two darker than Neptune's. His demeanor and music playing certainly seemed melancholic. His half-lidded eyes, however, seemed just as blue as the original Jaune's were supposed to be.

Gray-Jaune stepped forward calmly, walking up to stand next to the tree and overlook the cliffs as well. The rest of the group followed shortly.

During his playing, blue-Jaune transitioned into a set of chords, whereupon he spoke up. "I figured it wouldn't be too long until you found me."

"Are you the last?" gray-Jaune asked.

"Did you find Love and Anger yet?" blue-Jaune asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes, I am your last stop."

Both Jaunes fell into silence, one the girls didn't want to break.

"You haven't told her, have you?" blue-Jaune suddenly asked.

"Love tried to. I stopped him," gray-Jaune responded.

"So you will just keep it within yourself?"

"What the point in letting it out anymore?"

Blue-Jaune looked up, never stopping his playing even as he looked at the clouds that dotted the sky. "The chance is always there, Jaune. You just have to reach out and grab it. That's what mom always said, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but sometimes you have to know when to withdraw. If you know you're fighting a losing battle, there's no point in senselessly continuing," gray-Jaune retorted, his eyes closed and a grimace on his face. "Besides, _that's_ not why I came to Beacon."

"No one ever said that you had to focus on only one thing," blue-Jaune responded. "Humans are capable of many things, Jaune. Multi-tasking is one of them."

"Even so, I've already made my choice. Or, I should say, the answer is clear. Now, are you ready to get back inside my head?"

Blue-Jaune remained silent for a moment, but eventually, his playing hand stilled and he stood. He glanced at the group of girls standing to the side, his eyes narrowing slightly in sadness upon landing on one particular one, then sighed and faced Jaune. "Yes. Do you know what to do?"

"Not exactly. But I'll improvise."

Jaune closed his eyes, recalling some of the Aura lessons taught to him by both Pyrrha and Professor Goodwitch. With that in mind, he called upon the force he could feel inside him and focused on the emotions that he knew had called this particular shade to life.

Blue-Jaune's figure seemed to let off some steam, and when the group saw his skin begin to disappear, they realized he was dissolving. His shape became an indistinct cloud of blue moments later, whereupon it was funneled around Jaune and eventually absorbed by him. Jaune shuddered as it disappeared into him, but he eventually stilled and took a deep breath. With that, his color scheme changed, his hair tinting itself a shade of blue from the roots to the tips, as if he had a bucket of blue paint dropped on his hair.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"I'm fine," Jaune said, though the slight shaking of his voice told otherwise. When he opened his eyes, the group noted they were back to their original shade of blue. "I'll be fine…"

"How do you feel?" Yang asked.

"Mostly sad. I guess I have to absorb the other emotions I let out…"

"Do… do you want to talk about what just happened?" Ruby asked timidly.

Jaune looked at her, then shook his head slowly. "No. It's… I need to work this out myself. My emotions were a mess last night, and this certainly didn't help."

"Last night?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. I'm fairly sure that's what caused this whole mess," Jaune nodded, looking out towards the city of Vale. "I'm guessing I was so emotional that my aura itself reacted. But creating clones of me based on my emotions? That seems so off…"

"So you were in love, angry, and sad all at once last night?" Weiss asked.

Jaune nodded. "I suppose so. I don't think this was random, but I have to practice with it a little more before I come to any conclusions. I may have to talk with Professor Goodwitch, too."

The group remained quiet upon the cliff, looking down at the city of Vale, until they were interrupted by Jaune's scroll going off.

When he opened it, it was to be met by Ren's bewildered face.

 _"Uh, Jaune…? Mind telling me why Nora's standing guard over you? Wait, why do you have blue hair? What's going on?!"_

That night, the dance was finally underway.

Jaune had almost not attended the dance, due to his influx of emotions throughout the day, but he had been convinced after a combined puppy dog look by Ruby and Pyrrha, instigated by the former. She had already felt drained at the fact that Blake had almost not attended the dance; she didn't want to have Jaune be the one to disappear instead.

After having absorbed Love and Anger back into his body (the former still being knocked out and the latter returning with disheveled look and a smell on him only Yang recognized), he had been very confused and had taken a nap to recover some energy, waking up with just enough time to get dressed for the dance. Even while there, however, he only interacted with his friends, and gave passing hellos to the other students. Eventually, he found himself sitting on the sidelines, a cup of punch in his hand. He looked between his friends, who were spread all around and mingling with the others, then closed his eyes and relaxed his breathing.

"I thought you had already napped today."

The words and voiced knocked him from his stupor. Opening his eyes, he looked upon the form of Weiss Schnee, wearing a white dress with a black area around her neck and collarbone, alongside white heels only slightly lower than her combat boots. She was staring at him with a tilted head, an entirely neutral look upon her face.

"Yeah, well, I guess that wasn't enough for my body or mind," Jaune responded, covering his mouth in order to yawn. "What's up, Weiss?"

"Can I talk to you? Alone?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and nodded, draining the rest of his punch and placing the cup on a nearby table. He followed Weiss up a staircase and to a balcony that overlooked the grounds.

To their combined surprise, Pyrrha was already there, leaning against the balcony.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

The girl started and turned, looking at Jaune and Weiss with somewhat wide eyes. "Hello Jaune, Weiss."

"What are you doing out here?" Jaune asked, walking forward to stand in front of her.

"Just getting some fresh air. I'm not a fan of big parties, but I wasn't going to be long. This one, I can actually enjoy," Pyrrha said, a shaky smile on her face.

"Are you okay?" Jaune asked, concern shining out of his eyes.

Seeing those previously expressionless eyes focused on her, Pyrrha almost blurted out her thoughts then and there. But with a single glance to where Weiss was still standing, her arms crossed and a curious look on her face, she shook those thoughts out of her head and, against her better judgement, hardened her heart.

"Yes, I'm just fine, Jaune, don't you worry about me," Pyrrha responded.

"You dummy," Jaune chuckled. "You're my partner; of course I'm going to worry about you."

"And I, you," Pyrrha returned. "Now, I need to get back inside. You two… um…?"

"I just wanted to talk to Jaune for a moment. We won't be long," Weiss spoke up.

"Ah, okay then."

With that, Pyrrha walked inside. Jaune watched her go momentarily, then sighed and leaned back against the balcony.

"So, you wanted to talk?"

"Yes." Weiss walked up to stand next to him, looking out to the glowing school. "Jaune, would it be fair for me to ask you to be completely honest when answering my questions?"

"Of course."

"Thank you." Weiss took a breath, then asked, "When we encountered your melancholic copy, the words you traded left me a little confused. Remember how I asked you whether you had been feeling in love, angry, and melancholic all at once last night?"

Jaune nodded.

"Was that… because of me?"

"Yes, in a way."

"Elaborate, please…"

Jaune sighed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. "Last night… I had wanted to talk to you. I'd gotten some advice from a friend, thankfully not dad, and I wanted to see if you would have been willing to sit down and listen to my thoughts. I wanted to tell you pretty much what Ruby said Casanova had said to you: that I had been an idiot and an awkward fool, and that I shouldn't have pushed so much to try and be this macho man in order to impress you or something. I wanted to tell you… no, I wanted to _show_ you that I genuinely liked you. But…"

Jaune faltered momentarily.

"But what?" Weiss urged.

"I saw you, alright. But you weren't alone."

Weiss thought back to last night, and a shade of blue popped into her mind, making her eyes widen.

"Neptune…"

"Yeah. I won't lie, I was majorly jealous of the guy. I wondered how he could catch your attention so easily. When I saw you two together last night, I was both curious and worried. And when I heard you ask him to the dance…"

"You heard that?" Weiss asked, eyes wide once more.

"Yeah. It… hurt, for sure. I'm fairly certain that's where Melancholy came from."

"But then… what about Anger? Were you angry with me?"

"What? No, no, far from it," Jaune chuckled, waving away her question. "Who was I to say who you should like? No, I was angrier with myself than anything else. I… I've never had the highest self-esteem around. Actually, no, that's a lie. My self-esteem outright sucks. I may put up a front, but sometimes I feel like outright trash. But that's something else entirely." Jaune shook his head. "I felt angry at myself for completely botching up my first several times asking you out. Like they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I judged myself pretty harshly because of that, and I suppose Anger just descended into the rest of the reason I beat myself up sometimes."

The pair fell into silence once more.

"Jaune… If I may ask… do you love me?" Weiss decided to ask, her gaze turning to the young man.

Jaune blinked and thought about it, then sighed. "Love might be too strong a word. I'm… attracted to you, that's for sure."

"But why?"

Jaune smiled as he looked out towards Beacon. "When I first saw you… I guess I fell for your pretty face and haughty attitude. Something about you just pulled me in, at face value. I felt like I was in one of those stories my mom and dad would tell me, of gallant knights and princesses to rescue. I learned otherwise, believe me. After that, though… During the last semester, I spent most of the time just watching you. By hanging out with you and your team, I came to understand more about you, and only fell harder. I saw the caring core inside you, which you were almost afraid to show. I saw the want you had for companionship, and that your teammates gave you. I saw what your dedication to be a Huntress, your drive, lots of things about you…"

Jaune fell silent at this point, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head and looking away.

Weiss, on the other hand, just looked at him.

"He turned me down…"

" _Pardon moi_ " Jaune spluttered, turning around at her words.

"Neptune. I had asked him to the dance, but… he turned me down."

Jaune remained silent, prompting Weiss to look at him in confusion. That confusion became mirth when she realized his face was slowly descending into a frown.

"Oh, that blasted little… I am going to shove Crocea so far up his-,"

"Please don't," Weiss laughed. "Last thing I need is you arrested over trying to 'protect my honor'. And besides, if you do it, Myrtenaster would surely follow, and I don't believe there's space for both."

That got a laugh out of him, and the pair descended into guffaws upon imagining chasing Neptune with their blades shining and aiming right for his hindquarters.

As their laugh tapered off, their eyes opened and met. Faces fell into simple smiles as an amicable air fell between them.

"Try again."

That was all Weiss uttered.

Jaune's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"One more time, Jaune."

His eyes darting to the event happening just a few feet away, it finally clicked into place. A small, simple smile once again finding its place on his face, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Weiss… Would you be my partner for this dance?"

Weiss smiled at him, a simple smile that he now realized he had hardly seen before. Almost daintily, she raised her right hand and placed it upon his own.

"I would enjoy that."

 **This was a story that would just NOT. LEAVE. ME. ALONE! I would try and work on or think about another story, and BAM! This one just pops right the hell up. So I just got it over with and did my best to write it out, which is why it might sound or look a little rushed.**

 **Oh, and for clarification, no, this story has nothing to do with the Pixar movie Inside Out.**

 **Now, a little extra! I figured I may as well have a little fun while figuring this out. It's set a month or two after the dance.**

"So, I just want to make sure of the rules, Professor Goodwitch. The presentation we have to give can be _anything_ we can do, right?" Jaune asked, standing at the stage of the ballroom and grinning.

Seated in front of him were all of the students of first year. Some of them had performed already, with Ruby doing a little dance with Yang they had learned when little, Weiss singing one of her famous songs, and Blake reading off a poem she had written. The assignment had been to come up with some kind of artistic medium of expression and make something of it, be it a song, a poem, a dance, etc. They had been given a week to complete it, and the entire week, no matter how much they asked, Jaune would not tell anyone what he was doing, not even his girlfriend of one month, Weiss.

"Yes, Mister Arc. This is a time of expression for you all. I will not intervene unless it becomes overly violent," Goodwitch reiterated, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, sweet. Well, for my assignment, I wrote a song," Jaune explained. "It was a little difficult, but fun to write. Now, just give me a moment."

The young man closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His body began to glow, signaling his aura activating, then it suddenly changed color from white to a bright yellow.

To his right materialized another Jaune, his hair as blonde as ever. His eyes now matched the curtains, however. He was grinning widely, and all he did was wave happily at the crowd.

The original's hair lost a little of its luster, becoming more gray with yellow streaks.

Jaune's aura changed color again, to a more orange color, and once again, another Jaune materialized, this time to his left. This one had orange hair and eyes, and was sporting a mischievous grin with half-lidded eyes.

The loss of color of the original's progressed further.

Finally, Jaune's aura became a deep pink, and with it, a fourth Jaune materialized next to the orange copy. This one was grinning just as widely as yellow-Jaune, but his eyes immediately locked onto the white-haired Schnee, who smiled back.

The entire process took about five seconds, and with it, the original Jaune's hair and eyes became completely gray.

"I'm going to perform an acapella quartet," was all gray-Jaune said, smile still in place. "Oh, and Yang?"

"Yeah?" the blonde in question asked.

"Don't kill me for this."

Leaving the crowd in confusion over that, the quartet cleared their throats in unison, then grey-Jaune began, with the others backing him up.

 _"Whenever_ ** _life gets you down_** _... Keeps you_ ** _wearing a frown_** _... and the gravy train has_ ** _left you behiiiiiiind~_**

 _And when you're_ ** _all out of hope_** _... down at the_ ** _end of your rope_** _... and no_ ** _body's there to throw you a liiiiiiine~_**

Already, the song sounded a bit deep and inspirational, and the students held their breath as they witnessed gray-Jaune straighten and continue as the other three created an 'ooh' harmony in the background.

 _"If you ever get so low that you don't know which way to go, come on and take a walk in my shoes..._

 _Never worry about a thing; got the wooooorld on a string, 'cause I got the cure to all of my bluuuuuuuuuuues_ ** _(all of his bluuuuuuuuues)_**

The quartet went quiet for a moment, mirroring the shush that was on the crowd. The students edged forward, curious as to what he would say.

The effect was broken when the four Jaunes looked up simultaneously, grins on their faces, and began to snap their fingers to a 1-2-3-4 beat.

 ** _I take a look at my enormous peeeeniiiiis...!_** _And my troubles start melting away!_ ** _Ba-um-pah!_**

Ruby's eyes widened.

Weiss face-palmed.

Blake stifled her own laughter.

Yang immediately tried to cover Ruby's ears, whilst attempting to stifle her own laughter.

Pyrrha blushed and gaped.

Nora sang along with joy.

Ren sighed, grinned, and looked down.

And the crowd descended into raucous laughter.


	19. Aural Fortification

**I've started to work more on this fanfiction due to the fact that I am currently working in the weekends in a fairly secluded place, so I'm given a fair bit of free time. I just take my laptop and work on it there, which is much better for me as there's a lot less distractions. A lack of wi-fi means that I can really only focus on this, and trust me, without that, I would get distracted every few sentences.**

 **hirshja - I'll be honest, it really wasn't. I originally planned that one as two separate stories, and I was planning to have team SSSN sing that song alongside Jaune. I figured that, since I hadn't really made a coherent narrative for the singing one, to just combine it with my current one and make it work.**

 **This little one takes place roughly a month and a half after the dance, specifically the Burning the Candle episode. However, unlike canon, here Blake did not accept Sun's invite to the dance, and instead rebuffed him pretty harshly (remember, this was sleep-deprived Blake), and he's kept his distance from the whole team due to it, so you could say this includes some character development for him alongside Jaune. Jaune's reason is just Weiss.**

 **Finally, imagine what happens in this chapter as a mixture between Fate/Stay Night's Reinforcement magic and some Dragon Ball fight scenes.**

* * *

"Students, today we have only one fight on schedule. A requested spar, at that. I wish for you all to see it."

Glynda Goodwitch's voice rang throughout the training room, surprising many. Usually, the woman had several fights planned out. That this time was not the case was an interesting turn of events for the class of soon-to-be second years.

"Our first contestant mister Sun Wukong of Haven Academy."

At her words, the monkey Faunus stood up and calmly made his way down to the arena. His calm and quiet demeanor only furthered the surprise of the class, who had only ever known him to be hyperactive, though well-meaning. Turning back to the teacher, the class awaited eagerly the name of the person that would be fighting the Havenite.

"His opponent is… Jaune Arc."

Many an eyebrow was raised at this, especially those that knew Jaune. Team RWBY, having been sitting just next to JNPR, immediately turned to look at the team. Well, WBY did, as Ruby simply grinned at her fellow leader. To their surprise, Jaune was already standing, looking down at the arena, where Sun was waiting, with a simple smirk. Their combined sight changed to Pyrrha, who, to further their shock, was just looking at Jaune with a confident grin, much like Ruby. Ren and Nora, however, seemed to be just as surprised as they were.

As Jaune walked away, Yang suddenly spoke up. "Pyrrha, aren't you going to say something?"

Pyrrha's gaze turned to them, confusion etched on it. "Say something? Why would I?"

"What do you mean, why would you?" Weiss demanded in a low voice. "Arc's going to get slaughtered against someone like Wukong."

To the team's surprise, Pyrrha's face morphed into the rarest expression the redhead had ever mustered: disdain. "Of course _you_ would think that, Weiss."

Weiss jerked back as if slapped, unused to the sharp tone in her voice.

"I thought Jaune and you had mended fences after the dance, Weiss," Ren spoke up, attempting to keep an amicable air between them.

"Of course we did. That doesn't mean that I don't think what he's doing is foolish," Weiss responded.

"You seem to be under the impression that Jaune was the one that requested the match," Pyrrha spoke, drawing everyone's attention. "You are mistaken, Weiss. It was Sun that requested it."

"He did _what_?!" This time, it was Blake that spoke up. "Why would he do that?"

Pyrrha merely gave the Faunus-in-hiding a sidelong glance. "Just watch. You'll understand somewhat after the match."

* * *

Down at the arena, Jaune and Sun were currently standing across from each other, small smirks on both of their faces. The equally blonde professor stepped up to the no man's land, looking at the pair.

"Now, this match will have some special, and _one time_ , stipulations," Goodwitch continued. "The match will end not at 15% aura, but only when one of the contestants has been knocked out."

Ripples of wonder went through the crowd as they understood the meaning of those words. Should their aura run out, both blondes would run the risk of damaging their actual bodies if they were not knocked out, which could signal the end of their Huntsman careers.

"I will explain the reasoning for such at the end of the match, and I believe you will understand why I am choosing to have only this spar for today. Are both fighters ready?"

"Just one second, Professor," Jaune spoke up, reaching for his belt. Unclipping Crocea Mors from his belt, he brought the blade up and held it horizontally in front of him, looking directly at Sun.

The blonde Faunus, for his part, nodded and reached for his lower back, pulling out his collapsed nunchaku-shotgun-staff. He brought it up to the same level as Jaune did Crocea, and together, the pair walked backwards and placed the weapons at the edge of the stage, then returned to their standing positions.

* * *

"They're going to forego their weapons?" Ren asked, wonder in his voice.

"Yes. This was a match that Sun was looking forward to very much, and he himself laid that stipulation," Pyrrha explained.

* * *

Finally, as the crowd watched, Jaune reached for his back and unclipped the chest armor that protected him. Pulling it off, he tossed it behind him alongside his weapon. Ignoring the minor laughs that came from the crowd at the sight of the smiling bunny on his hoodie, he then unclipped the spaulders on his arms, tossing them behind him as well. Finally, and to finish surprising the crowd, he took off his hoodie, tossing that alongside everything else and leaving him in a plain white shirt.

"Now, we're set," Jaune declared, tightening his gloves.

"You're foregoing your armor as well?" Goodwitch asked. At Jaune's nod, she continued, "Very well. Fighters are ready. You may begin!"

She stepped back, a bubble shield appearing around the arena and leaving the pair to themselves.

Jaune's hands balled to fists as he brought them up to waist level. Looking at Sun, he stated, "You and I both know that this was a long time coming, so if it's alright with you, let's just skip the warm-up."

"Fine by me," Sun replied, his grin widening.

Teeth gritting in effort, Jaune's pose suddenly became tense, as if he were pulling something. Moments later, and with an exclamation from the leader of JNPR, Jaune's muscles bulged and pure white energy erupted from him, covering him in a flowing glow that made the very ground under him crack from the force.

* * *

"What the heck?" Yang exclaimed, looking at the sudden power-up from her fellow blonde. "What is that?"

" _That_ is what Jaune has been working on since the dance," Pyrrha said, though she was not forthcoming with any more info.

* * *

"Well then," Sun mused. "This is going to take longer than I thought."

The Faunus brought his fists up, his posture lowering as he let his body fall into a nimble stance. The pair of blondes watched each other for a moment, Jaune's glowing blue eyes versus Sun's narrowed azure ones.

A cough came from somewhere in the stands.

Jaune took the initiative of the fight, leaning forward and practically _blasting_ towards Sun, the ground under his feet uprooting behind him as he moved. The young man drew back his fist and shot it out as he approached Sun, who crossed his arms in an X stance.

The collision between the two of them created a sonic boom that ruffled the spectators, but the Faunus was unmoved. His grin remained, if a little strained, and his arms could be seen to be shaking. Jaune, meanwhile, grit his teeth as he braced his legs, pushing harder against Sun's block.

Sun suddenly released his pressure, making Jaune lose his balance and fall forward. As he did, Sun shot his right knee directly upwards, slamming it against Jaune's stomach, making Jaune gasp in pain. The leader of JNPR quickly recovered, tilting his body into a handstand and twisting his legs around, slamming the heel of his foot against Sun's cheek and sending the Faunus a few steps back. Sun grunted as his cheek reddened, but didn't let that deter him and shot a kick out at Jaune's exposed midsection. Jaune quickly dropped, rolling around the kick and grabbing the Faunus' leg, using it to turn like a spinning top and send Sun flying away. Sun recovered mid-flight, quickly placing his feet and one hand on the ground and skidding to a stop. The blonde monkey boy quickly dashed back into the fray, throwing out a right punch that Jaune caught with his left hand. Jaune attempted to retaliate with a left punch, but his was caught by Sun's right hand in much the same manner as Jaune had done, leaving them in a stalemate as they pushed against each other.

"What's the matter, Jaune?" Sun said with a cheeky tone. "I thought you said we were skipping the warm-up."

"Maybe I was wrong," Jaune chuckled in response, throwing out a knee that Sun intercepted with his own. As their legs returned to the ground, Jaune suddenly bent backwards, pulling Sun into the air, then let go of his hand and shot out a kick that caught Sun on the stomach, sending the Faunus upwards. Crouching, Jaune jumped and followed Sun, the pair trading a few blows in the air before punching each other with enough force to send themselves to opposite sides of the arena. As they stood, their eyes remained on each other.

The crowd watched this in astonished silence, their eyes following the moves of the blonde Beacon student with complete surprise.

However, two redheads in the crowd only smiled knowingly, nodding simultaneously at Jaune.

"Alright, Jaune, time to step it up a notch," Sun said, clapping his hands. In a flash of light, two golden copies of the monkey boy appeared at his sides, which immediately dashed to the other blonde, who tensed in response.

* * *

"If he touches those, he's done for," Blake exclaimed, watching the copies of Sun run forward.

"And that's why he won't," Pyrrha responded.

* * *

The left-side Sun clone arrived first, shooting out a right hook towards Jaune, who ducked and dodged it. The hook was followed by a kick that Jaune was forced to twist to the right in order to dodge, then a second kick that the blonde hopped over. As he landed, Jaune was immediately forced into a slide as the second Sun clone came in with a haymaker, missing Jaune's head by a few centimeters. Jaune used this time to quickly dash towards Sun, who had yet to move, with the two Sun clones hot on his tail.

"Are you really trying that old trick?!" Sun exclaimed, immediately creating a third clone to stand in front of him protectively.

* * *

"I thought Sun could only create two of those," Blake mused.

* * *

Jaune, to everyone's surprise, dashed right past Sun and his shield clone, instead running directly to the edge of the arena. As the Attack clones approached his position, Jaune tensed his legs and jumped, his feet landing on the arena's bubble shield and his run continuing vertically.

* * *

"Whoa! There's something you don't see every day," Yang exclaimed, clapping at the display.

Ruby, meanwhile, took mental notes of those moves for use with her semblance.

* * *

The Attack clones turned, watching Jaune as he ran on the shield until he was eventually fully upside down. At the point where he was directly above Sun, the young man shot off from the shield like a rocket, pulling his fist back and aiming towards Sun. Sun's Defense clone attempted to cover its creator, but Jaune wasn't aiming _directly_ at Sun.

Instead, his punch landed on the ground just behind Sun like a meteor, shaking the entire room and making the ground around him erupt. Sun was sent flying as his ground was uprooted, his concentration slipping and his clones disappearing. A cloud of dust covered the arena, none of it escaping due to the bubble shield that covered it. While none of the crowd were able to see what was happening, they could still hear the shockwaves made as the punches and kicks that came from inside it and the ever-lowering aura levels shown just above the arena.

A spot on the north side of the arena suddenly cracked as Jaune slammed into it, his body becoming imprinted against the shield. The young man quickly dislodged himself from there, and not a moment later, Sun's foot landed exactly on that spot, widening the crack. The pair disappeared once again into the cloud of dust, and all that was heard were the sound of fists and feet slamming against flesh until another disturbance was created, this time on the south side of the arena and by Sun slamming face-first against it. Jaune quickly followed, and Sun was just able to dodge the direct jab that landed against the arena's shield, which made it distort somewhat due to the pressure.

After what felt like an eternity to the students watching, there was a sudden commotion inside the arena, and the next thing everyone saw was the leader of JNPR slam against the very same north side of the arena with tremendous force, breaking right through the bubble and causing the shield to shatter.

As the shards of the bubble shield fell, the dust was finally allowed to dissipate, leaving the fighters and arena in full visibility. The ground of the arena had been absolutely destroyed, with the only thing left being the very earth that was under the school. Of the two fighters, Sun was still standing, a few healing bruises on his body and face. His short-sleeved jacket had been torn off in the scuffle, leaving him topless. His whole frame was shaking slightly, but if the grin on his face was anything to judge from, it was from exhilaration. Jaune, meanwhile, was just standing up on the other side of the arena. His body was just as bruised and healing, and his white shirt had several rips on the torso, with one of the sleeves missing completely. The blonde human had a grin on his face as well, his eyes narrowed and his chest heaving.

* * *

"H… How?" was all Weiss could utter, looking down at the shattered arena in shock.

"I don't know, but damn if it isn't impressive," Yang exclaimed. "Lover Boy's improved this much since the dance?"

"That and more," Ruby grinned, drawing their attention.

"You knew of this?" Blake asked.

"Of course I did," Ruby returned. "Jaune's my bestie; I've watched him training, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Yang muttered.

* * *

Down at the arena, Sun suddenly disappeared from view, having dashed directly towards Jaune. The leader of JNPR was just able to bring up his left arm, blocking the right hook that was headed for his head. Quickly twisting his arm's rotation, Jaune grabbed onto the offending arm's wrist and held it there, then pulled back his right arm and clenched his hand into a fist. His arm began to glow brighter than the rest of his body, whereupon Jaune's fist flew forward to impact upon Sun's sternum. The Faunus gasped in pain as a shockwave blasted from the punch, bending him over slightly. Using that as leverage, Jaune grabbed Sun's right arm with both hands and _pulled_ , twisting Sun over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground behind Jaune, leaving a crater on that space and making another cloud of dust shoot into the air.

Silence reigned for a moment, then an explosion rang out inside the dust cloud, from which Jaune was shot out of, his arms crossed in front of his face and his front smoking. The blonde young man ended up slamming against the wall below the stands of the arena, leaving him embedded there, and with what sounded like a crackling fire, a white, flowing wave of aura passed over him. Together, the eyes of the spectators glided upwards, where Jaune's image on the board blinked for a moment, an empty bar below it, before disappearing completely, leaving only Sun's smirking picture over a red bar.

On the ground, Sun stood, dusting himself off. Along with the crowd, he looked over to where Jaune was pulling himself out from the wall, his body heaving. Before anyone could say anything, however, he dashed right back into the fray, throwing out a punch towards Sun's face that the Faunus was forced to dodge. Jaune kept up the pressure, throwing out jabs and hooks that kept Sun on his toes until the monkey Faunus was able to retaliate, dodging a low punch by hopping into the air, then spinning in order to throw an axe kick right at Jaune's face. Jaune once against crossed his arms in an X position, blocking the blow, though the transfer of force through his body dug his heels into the dirt below. Forcing Sun off him and leaving the Faunus in the air and unbalanced, Jaune reached out and grabbed Sun's ankle, then pulled and slammed his right knee against Sun's back, bending the Faunus's back awkwardly and making Sun choke on his own spittle momentarily. Before he could do anything else, however, Sun twisted his body, swinging his free leg around and slamming it against the side of Jaune's head, the sound of the impact drawing many 'ooh's of sympathy from the crowd.

Jaune flew to the side, bouncing twice on the ground before skidding to a stop. Even then, the young man still struggled to stand, pushing himself up as best he could with his shaking arms.

"You haven't noticed yet, have you?" Sun suddenly said, approaching Jaune slowly.

"Noticed… what…?" Jaune panted out, his chest heaving as his body tried to take in as much oxygen as possible.

"Your aura. It's gone," Sun summed up quickly.

Jaune's head snapped up at that comment, his eyes wide. "What?!"

At Sun's nod, Jaune quickly checked himself over, closing his eyes in an attempt to pull on his aura reserves. To his surprise, he could feel nothing there. He looked back up at Sun, just in time to catch the Faunus's knee flying at him, sending him skidding once again, and this time ending with him slamming into a wall.

There was silence in the room, the only sounds being the settling dust and debris. Jaune merely hung from the wall, his hair covering his downturned face. A small smile in place, Sun walked forward, stopping just in front of the wall-ridden young man.

"It seems all that training we did, plus the constant aura channeling you've done since we started, has helped your muscles and receptors improve by leaps and bounds," Sun continued, watching the heaving young man quietly. "That's pretty impressive, I gotta admit."

Finally, Sun reached forward and grabbed Jaune by his arm, pulling him out of the wall and helping him stand. The pair stood there for a moment, amongst the shocked silence of the crowd, then suddenly, Sun gasped in pain as Jaune's fist shot up and buried itself in his stomach, bending the Faunus over. A moment after, Sun was surrounded by a golden glow, which then dissipated off his body like disappearing fire.

"Heh… look at that… I was able to… drain your aura… finally…" That was all Jaune said in a gasping voice before he finally succumbed to his exhaustion, falling onto Sun's outstretched arm and not moving.

"Jaune Arc has been knocked unconscious. The winner is Sun Wukong!" Goodwitch announced.

There was shocked silence for a moment before the stand suddenly erupted into applause. As the cheers eventually tapered off, Goodwitch pulled out her wand and activated her semblance. With the sound of cracking stone, the arena began to repair itself, the stones that had been thrown everywhere in the battle of the two blondes returning to their rightful place and combining once more. It took a little longer than the students were used to seeing, but eventually, the arena was back to one hundred percent capacity, and the teacher was able to relax.

"I must admit, I was just as impressed at first," Goodwitch stated, quieting the rest of the students. "Mister Arc has come very far since he began to attend Beacon, and with the help of his partner, Miss Nikos, and his friends, he has been able to arrive at a level of combat suitable for Huntsman-in-training standards. I wished to show you this battle because I have already seen the two of them spar before. Understand, students, that while aura is humanity's shield and the force we use to battle the creatures of Grimm, one must never become one hundred percent reliant on it. Once you run out, then what? You are left with no protection and no semblance. All you have is your skin and whatever armor you may use. Mister Arc here has demonstrated that with enough training, your own body can be just as strong as your semblance, and from his place as the dead last of this class, he has become able to go toe-to-toe with one of the strongest students currently in Beacon's grounds. Never forget that. Now, Mister Wukong?"

"Yes?"

"Please take Mister Arc to the infirmary. I believe he has earned himself a good rest."

Sun grinned, tossing Jaune over his shoulder. "You got it. I could use a little break myself."

"Class is dismissed, but do keep in mind what has happened here, students."

* * *

It was several minutes later when teams RWBY and NPR congregated at the infirmary, meeting up with Sun and Jaune.

The human blonde was still unconscious, and the group could see a few bandages wrapped around his midsection and a few bandages on his face and arms. He was sleeping peacefully on one of the beds of the infirmary. Sitting next to him, arms and legs crossed and eyes closed, was Sun, who was still topless and who had nothing more than an ice pack in his hand for the bruise left by Jaune's final attack.

Sun's eyes opened as he heard the seven students enter, his mouth curling into a smirk. "About time you guys arrived."

"That was amazing!" Ruby exclaimed, rushing over to Jaune's bedside and looking at the unconscious young man with stars in her eyes. "I mean, I've seen you two fight before, but Jaune pulled almost all the stops he had!"

"Indeed, it was quite entertaining to see," Pyrrha concurred, standing next to Jaune's head and softly moving his hair back in order to look over his peaceful face. "I'm so proud of you, Jaune…"

"So, this _has_ happened before, then?" Nora asked, coming up to stand next to Sun.

"Yeah. Several times, really," Sun responded. "Arc's come pretty far since he started here."

"Which brings up a question," Weiss spoke up, standing at the end of Jaune's bed. "Just when and where did you two meet? I mean, you've been rather distant since the dance, so I'm not sure of how you two even came across each other."

"Ah, that happened about a day before the dance, if I remember right," Sun responded, shrugging. "As for where, it was in a bar down in Vale."

"A bar?!" Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora, and Ren exclaimed.

"Yup. Junior's Bar, I think it was called. Not the most imaginative name, but hey, what can ya do?"

"Wait, you went to Junior's?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Did he manage to repair all the damage that was left there?" the blonde asked ambiguously.

"The bar looked fine, so I suppose so," Sun responded with a raised eyebrow. A chuckle escaped him later. "Though, it sure wasn't so after that."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"Jaune and I smashed the place up pretty bad."

At his words, the group went silent, though all Pyrrha did was shake her head as she remembered that story.

"How so?" Yang asked, a little eager to hear the story.

"Well, Jaune and I met each other there, like I said. I was there first, and he came about an hour after I arrived. I recognized him as Ruby's friend and the guy that was constantly pining for Ice Queen over here, so I went over to talk to him. We talked, we drank, we bonded over our shared woes, etc. Sometime in the night, one of the people in the bar must have recognized us, because next thing we knew, Jaune and I were surrounded by a bunch of thugs with weapons drawn, and Junior himself came up to us and said something about sending a message to a blondie. So… we fought our way out."

"Wait, wait, wait," Weiss halted his story. "You, I can understand fighting his way out of a club, but _Arc_? He's hardly able to wield a sword!"

"Well, I guess he just wasn't that good at using it at the time," Sun shrugged. "Either way, he didn't have Crocea Mors with him when he went."

"So you mean to tell me he fought his way out bare-knuckled?" Ren asked.

"Yep. Gotta admit, he didn't have much of a fighter stance, but he sure had the strength and the determination. He would get shot, stabbed, and clubbed, but nothing kept the man down." Sun looked over to the sleeping blonde with a smirk. "So, once we made our way out of there, I decided to help him out. He had told me why he went to the bar, and I told him my reason, so I figured I could help him out a little before the Vytal Tournament came around."

"And why _did_ he go to a bar in the first place?" Nora asked.

Sun shook his head. "That's his story. I'm not telling."

"What about you?" Blake asked. "I didn't think you were a drinker."

"There's lots of things you don't know about me," Sun responded, though the offhand way in which he said it shook the girl somewhat. "But I'm not interested in sharing that."

"Oh, come on! Please?" Yang pleaded, giving him the best puppy-dog look she could muster.

Sun's deadpan expression shattered that. "Nope. Besides, you can't pull that off convincingly, Yang. Only Ruby can do that."

"Ruby, if you would," Yang called out.

To her surprise, however, her little sister responded with a simple, "Nope."

"What? Aw, not you too!"

Ruby shook her head at her sister. "Yang, I already know both their reasons, and no, I'm not telling you. Jaune and Sun both trusted me with it. If they don't want to tell you, that's that."

"Bleh! Spoilsport," Yang stuck her tongue out. "Moving on from that, though, just what was that?"

"Might wanna be a little specific," Sun said.

"Jaune! His aura! His strength! …eh?" Yang tried.

"Oh, you mean how he called out his aura? That was all Pyrrha's doing," Sun said, nodding his head at the champion.

As everyone's attention turned to her, Pyrrha chuckled. "That's an overestimation. I may have unlocked his aura, but what Jaune did was all his own."

"And what _was_ it that Jaune did?" Ren asked.

"Aural Reinforcement," Pyrrha declared. At their confused looks, she continued, "You're all aware that aura is what allows men and women to stand on equal footing in battles?" When they nodded, she continued, "Jaune asked me to go into a little more detail, then took it to its logical extreme. He told me that if aura is what makes our bodies develop in such a way that we have so much strength when compared to any regular civilian, then logically, using aura to, as he said, 'pump up your muscles' shouldn't be far off."

The others returned to their confused stated.

"The point is, what Jaune does is channel his aura through his muscles, reinforcing them and giving them more power," Sun continued. "He eventually developed it to his whole body, thus making him both stronger _and_ faster whenever he channels aura."

"But wouldn't that waste a crap ton of aura?" Nora asked.

"Yes, it does," Pyrrha conceded the point. "But if there's one thing that Jaune has over any of us, it's aura levels."

"That's an understatement; the guy practically has a goddamn ocean of aura inside him!" Sun exclaimed, to the surprise of the group.

"You must be exaggerating," Weiss attempted to say.

"Ice Queen, don't even," Sun cut her off. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but Jaune was channeling aura the _entire time_ we were fighting! Every time he hit me, he used up aura! Hell, every time he _moved_ , he used up aura! And even then, he was still able to knock mine out with a few good blows!"

The room went silent at his declaration. Then, suddenly, Yang snorted, drawing everyone's attention.

"What is it, Yang?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, I wonder if Jaune's compensating for something," Yang said, waving her eyebrows.

It took a moment for her words to process, but eventually, most of the room's inhabitants went red at her words.

"Yang!" Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha exclaimed simultaneously.

* * *

 **My head can't pump out anymore, so that's that!**


	20. The Transporter

**Despite the title, this story has little to do with the actual Transporter movies. They were inspired more by the Fate of the Furious movie and some Need for Speed games, "The Run" the biggest idea-giver.**

* * *

The week had not been good to Weiss Schnee.

In her attempts to escape her horrible life at home, the girl had chosen to stowaway in one of the cargo airship that transported Dust around Atlas. She knew that Atlas' borders had been closed by James Ironwood, so she was sure that she wouldn't be able to get far. She wasn't expecting just how _short_ the distance would actually be.

Her escape had been in the middle of the night, but apparently, her father Jacques had found out her disappearance shortly after. In his paranoia about the 'Schnee family name' he preached about so much, he had immediately had every Dust flight return to base to be inspected. She had found out just a few moments before the vessel she was in was forced to turn around. Luckily, the pilot was good enough to open the cargo doors just enough for her to jump out, an opportunity she wasted no time in taking.

After that, it took two days of travel before she was able to find a town to rest in. It was a small place, but it would do. After finding a room and changing into less conspicuous clothing, she took to the streets, hoping to find another way to make it into Anima before the rest of the borders were closed.

Unfortunately, it took two more days before she was able to finally find a way. She had met with a small family in a diner who had informed her that there was someone that took people from one kingdom to another, needing only the amount of people in the group to know what kind of car to bring. After managing to send a message to the person, she received a confirmation for pickup the next day.

The bad news? Jacques had also sent out envoys to the closest villages to the Schnee Mansion, both in person and via whatever communication was available, offering several million lien to whoever could find her and capture her. One of those envoys had reached the very village she was in, and had subsequently recognized her in the very restaurant she had met the smuggled family.

So now here she was, running for her life across the village to get to the appointed rendezvous point with a mob on her tail. She was sure she could fight them and get away, but what held her back was the fact that most of these were civilians with little or no aural protection. If she started fighting the soldiers and they got in the way, she wasn't sure if she could hold back enough to not kill them.

As she passed the village gates, dodging some rifle fire from the side, she pulled out Myrtenaster and turned, racking her brains on what she would do. Her pursuers caught up with her quickly, making a loose semicircle at the gates that prevented her from entering.

"So… you plan to bring me in?" Weiss said, rotating Myrtenaster's Dust revolver.

One of the soldiers stepped forward, brandishing his rifle. To Weiss' surprise, his answer was, "No."

"Wh- No?"

"No, Schnee. We do not want you here," the soldier continued. "With the price on your head, all you will do is bring misfortune upon our village. Therefore, you are to leave the village."

Weiss blinked in surprise, then turned and looked at the icy forest that stretched out behind her. Turning back to the group at the gates, she slowly nodded and turned.

At that very moment, the sound of a powerful motor came from the woods, startling most of them. Turning in the direction it had come, the white-haired girl spotted a cloud of kicked-up snow traveling towards the village. It took no more than a few moments for it to arrive at the gates, whereupon it skid to a stop right in between her and the village. As the snow settled, a car came into view. Weiss recognized it as a classic muscle car, though it appeared to have been modified for driving on snow and was heavily fortified. The car's driver-side door opened, and out stepped a young man wearing a black hoodie and jeans, with a cap on his head. **(A/N: If you've seen Fate of the Furious, it's essentially Dom's Ice Dodge Charger. If you haven't, look it up on Images by that name.)**

Weiss' eyes widened, however, when she noticed the blonde hair sticking out from the cap, as well as the blue eyes that met hers and the crooked smile that was surprisingly as full of warmth as she remembered.

"Hey, Weiss," Jaune Arc said, crossing his arms. "Long time no see."

"J-Jaune?" the white-haired girl said, her mind still racing to understand this scenario.

"That's my name, yes," he responded, and now that the shock had worn off a little, she could hear the more gravelly undertone of his voice, the large bags under his eyes, and the tense way he was standing. "Ready to head out?"

Weiss looked over his shoulder to where the crowd was still standing, their eyes on the car and its owner. Looking back at Jaune, she silently nodded.

"Good. You're carrying Dust in that case, I'm assuming?" Jaune asked, nodding his head down at the suitcase in her hands. At her nod, he reached into the car and pulled a small lever, whereupon the boot of the car popped open. "There's a space there where you can set it. Make sure you wrap it tightly with the straps on the floor of the boot; I think it may get a little jostled during the ride."

After making sure to do so, Weiss closed the back of the car and walked around to the passenger side, meeting eyes with Jaune as he approached the driver side. With a simultaneous nod, the pair entered the car, strapping themselves up immediately. The dashboard of the car was fairly modern for a classic car, with a touchscreen at the center and several knobs, buttons, and switches that she couldn't begin to comprehend.

Before the pair could leave, however, Weiss rolled down her window, looking at the crowd that was now beginning to disperse. Clearing her throat, she called out a simple pair of sentences.

"I'm sorry… for whatever my father has done to cause you to distrust the Schnee name. I promise that I will make sure to bring it back to a place you can be proud of."

The crowd stared at her as she said it, making her suddenly self-conscious. The ex-heiress quickly rolled up her window, her face reddening. Awkwardly, she turned her eyes over to her left, but to her surprise, Jaune was looking at her with a simple smile.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you will," he said, nodding at her.

Somehow, she knew he meant it. He may have changed, but she knew his spirit was still there.

* * *

"So, how did _this_ come to be?" Weiss asked, shuffling in her seat to become more comfortable as they sped through the forest road.

Shifting up in gear, Jaune chuckled. "It happened just a month after the fall of Beacon. I assume you know what happened to Pyrrha?"

Weiss' eyes fell as she remembered hearing the news. "Yes. I'm sorry, Jaune."

Jaune's eyes drifted over to her, but he didn't respond to her apology. "It did hit me pretty hard, but where I live, there are deaths all the time. I've seen my fair share since then, but as a kid, I wasn't really aware of it, and as a teen, I never really cared, as they weren't all that close to me. But now… I understood what those that I saw mourning family members and friends felt. I understood the pain, the sadness, the agony of knowing that someone that was always there with you was ripped from you. That's why I started this system. My dad has been a car enthusiast since before he and my mom even met, so when I told him what I wanted to do, he suggested this method and helped me kick start it."

"And how does it work?"

"The same way you contacted me. My dad passed along my information to a friend of his that works in the border patrol of Mistral, who then contacts me whenever he receives word of any individuals or families in distress. They're the ones in charge of reporting whenever they make contact with any people left behind by Grimm attacks, but many times, they're unable to take every person in a group and are forced to leave some behind, and by the time they come back… they're nowhere to be found. The constant attacks from Grimm leave a lot of people orphaned, destitute, and desolate. And I… I just couldn't stand that. At first, I picked up only one or two people at a time, bringing them from wherever they were to the closest kingdom, where they are hopefully able to recover. But when I realized that sometimes a single car might not do, I started to save up money and bought bigger wrecks, rebuilding and modifying them to be faster and stronger than they ever were. Pickup trucks, vans, even buses; I've used them all in order to ferry people to safety."

Silence reigned between them for a few moments after his story, which was broken by Weiss' sigh. "I have to say, I am impressed, Jaune. You've come far from the bumbling boy you were when we first met."

"I had to," was all Jaune responded with.

Silence fell between them again as Jaune shifted and sped up, a trail being left in the snow as the car shot past trees and hills.

* * *

Some hours later, Weiss awoke with a start.

Jaune had stopped the car as night fell, stating that they should have some rest, as they were close to their destination. Having been unable to fall asleep at the village due to the tension in her, Weiss had readily agreed and gotten comfortable on the passenger seat, falling asleep oddly quickly.

Weiss rubbed her eyes, pulling the lever on the side of the seat to bring up its back. Looking around, she blinked as she noticed the empty seat next to her, then looked out the windshield, where she spotted her driver leaning against the hood of the car, arms crossed and head tilted upwards.

Rubbing her eyes to get rid of her sleepiness, Weiss opened her door and stepped out, looking up as she noticed the lightly falling snow. Looking back at Jaune, she noticed he hadn't moved, but his head had tilted slightly.

"You didn't really sleep much." It wasn't a question.

"I guess I overestimated my exhaustion," Weiss responded, walking up to stand next to him.

Jaune's eyes were narrowed as he looked at the sky, his irises sometimes tracing falling snowflakes. Weiss' own eyes fell as she noticed the pain hidden in those orbs, pain that she knew he had been hiding since he first saw her.

"Jaune…"

Jaune shook his head roughly. "Don't."

"Please, let me apologize, at least," she insisted. "I know I said sorry before, but it doesn't come close to the regret I feel."

"You don't understand," Jaune responded. "I'm telling you to not apologize. You have nothing to feel sorry for. You tried your hardest; you and Ruby both did. It isn't your fault, and you shouldn't feel any regret. If anyone should… it's me."

Weiss looked up as he said this, eyes wide and focused on the blonde.

"I'm the one that she had to send away… because he was too weak. I'm the one that held her back, and that tried to stop her but failed."

"You shouldn't blame yourself either," she stated, stepping closer to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "It isn't your fault."

"Maybe not," Jaune conceded, "but that doesn't mean I don't have plenty of regret for what I could or couldn't have done. Maybe I could've stopped her; convinced her to just come with me back to the safe zone. Maybe I could've been there for her when she was feeling guilty over the whole Maiden business… there's a lot of maybes." His eyes hardened and narrowed. "But that's the past. I don't look back there anymore." He turned to look at Weiss, who stepped back at the intensity of his gaze. "The Jaune Arc that was in Beacon back then was a fool and a weakling. I won't be that idiot anymore."

"Jaune…" Weiss felt her image of Jaune begin to crack at that. She could tell Pyrrha's death and all that had happened since had taken a toll on him, both body and spirit.

"Come on, we should keep moving."

* * *

It was about an hour later, as they were speeding through a wide expanse of snow, that a beeping noise suddenly came from the dashboard of the car.

"What?" Jaune muttered, reaching over and pressing a flashing warning sign on the screen.

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

Jaune's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen. "We have company."

A map popped up on the screen, showing their position as a green triangle at the center of several concentric circles. The triangle signaling them blipped once, then returned, and with it appeared four other triangles, these ones blue and approaching their position quickly.

Weiss quickly looked through the side mirror, whereupon her spirits plummeted. There, leaving clouds of snow in their wake, were four cars that she recognized well. They were sleek and colored a matte black color, with the only contrasting part being the white snowflake emblazoned on the sides and hood. She knew these well; her father had given her a small lesson on them upon introducing them to the security force for her family.

These were Schnee Interceptors, a unit made to chase down anyone that her father believed threatened their family.

Now it seemed that target was her.

She started when she suddenly heard the sound of a large engine, much closer than the cars were. Rolling her window down, she stuck her head out and looked outside.

There, flying to their right and high in the sky, was a monochromatic Bullhead, with the same design style as the cars chasing them.

"Jacques is pulling out all the stops to capture me," Weiss mused as she rolled the window back up.

"Who are these guys?" Jaune asked, keeping a hand tightly against the steering wheel and another on the shifter.

"Schnee Interceptors. You could call them my father's personal mercenaries."

"Damn, that is one seriously messed up daddy you have, Weiss."

Weiss was prevented from responding to that by the sound of a loud hiss. Eyes widening, she turned back to the window, where a sleek black shape could be seen approaching their position quickly.

"Jaune-!"

"I see it! Hang on!"

Weiss' center of balance shook roughly as Jaune swerved the car roughly. The sound of skidding tires came loudly as Weiss just barely noticed the missile fly just behind them, flying into a collection of trees and hitting one moments later.

The large explosion that ensued from that contact left her speechless. That it left behind an acre of barren, scorched land only further left her astonished.

"Okay…! So they're not just trying to capture you anymore!" Jaune summed up quickly, getting the car back under control.

Weiss didn't answer. This was something else entirely to her.

This was _much_ more serious.

Eyes narrowing in anger, Weiss turned back to look at Jaune.

"What's the plan?"

"Hang on," Jaune responded. "We're going to take a little detour, and things are going to get a little sideways."

The blonde suddenly turned to the right, turning the car's path in the direction of the Bullhead. There was a wind up sound that emanated from it, whereupon a gatling gun underneath the Bullhead that Weiss hadn't noticed beforehand fired in their direction, its bullets traveling quickly to their position. Jaune turned the car just as quickly, swerving around the bullets swiftly enough for their car to come out unscathed, upon which he shifted up and floored the pedal, the car rapidly accelerating them into a group of trees. Faintly, Weiss could hear the sound of the Interceptors and the Bullhead following them, but her focus was more on the road ahead, or rather, the lack thereof. She tensed and leaned back as the car sped around trees, expecting them to crash at any moment upon a trunk, but Jaune seemed to know exactly what he was doing. He turned and swerved without problems, sometimes dodging trees that she was unconditionally sure they would smear against. The blonde was in perfect control of the car, shifting up and down as necessary and turning only the necessary amount to get them through groups of trees.

The same couldn't be said of their pursuers.

Placing her trust on her driver for the moment, Weiss looked back through the side mirror, just in time to notice one of the four Interceptors miss a critical turn and end up slamming sideways onto the trunk of a tree, which quickly began to collapse. The speed it was going almost caused it to be ripped in half due to the force of the crash, but she was sure it was out of commission regardless. It only took a few more moments for another to fall victim to the unrelenting nature, ramming head first into a thick tree that stopped it cold on its tracks. The two cars remaining seemed to be in perfect control of their wheels, so the ex-heiress decided to place the situation more in their favor.

She reached into her dress' chest, pulling out a hidden Ice Dust crystal that she had always kept on her in case of emergencies. Rolling down her window, Weiss crushed the crystal in her hand, then called upon her semblance. Holding her hand out, she released the Dust shards behind them, jolting slightly as Jaune turned the car enough for her aim to be true. A snowflake-shaped glyph appeared just behind them and remained on that position, its light blue color perfectly camouflaged with the snow, and Weiss waited until one the Interceptors was just above the glyph before activating her trap.

Immediately, a group of sharp icicles shot up from the ground, spearing the Interceptor as it passed through. The force lifted it into the air, the point of impact making it flip on its top. The one behind it quickly swerved around it, and with no other options, Weiss watched as it approached them, sidling up quickly to their left, at Jaune's side. Weiss' eyes widened as she noticed its right window roll down, a rifle appearing out of it.

"Jaune, look out!" she called out.

Jaune, however, didn't pay attention to them, leaving her shocked. She winced as it fired, but to her surprise, the bullets hit the glass on Jaune's side and bounced off, leaving nothing but minor cracks on it.

"Bullet resistant, baby," Jaune chuckled, looking at the offending car. "Can't touch this!"

A light in front of them brought Weiss' attention forward, where she now realized the small forest they had gone into was ending. Her eyes widened, however, when she noticed that this forest was overlooking a wide expanse of land.

That was a cliff.

She would've cried out in surprise, but the breath was taken from her as Jaune suddenly jolted the car to the left, slamming into the side of the still-shooting Interceptor. The line of fire went wide as the car lost control, but that control was quickly regained.

The cliff approached quickly.

The Interceptor shot towards them, seeking retaliation.

At the last moment, Jaune reached down and pulled the e-brake, twisting the steering wheel all the way to the right.

Weiss screamed as the pair of cars shot past the cliff, the feeling of weightlessness grabbing her almost immediately. She was hardly aware of her body being pulled to her left as the car spun in the air, but a sudden slam came from behind them, jolting her to the other side and changing their momentum. The world spun against the ex-heiress' eyes, but it was only a moment later that a slam came from below them, jerking them momentarily. Looking up through the windshield, Weiss eyes widened as she watched the final Interceptor crash to the ground several meters to their northeast, hurtling along the snowy ground and jumping several times as pieces of it flew into the air with every smash. It came to a stop a few moments later, remaining as a mangled mess of steel that the pair of them shot past.

Eyes still wide, Weiss turned to her blonde driver, who was letting out a long sigh. Forcing herself to talk past her hammering heart, she asked in a croaky voice, "W-what was… that?"

Jaune's eyes flicked to her, an impish smile on his face. "Well, you showed off a little. I figured I may as well follow suit. I think they call that a tail whip, only I did an aerial version."

"Did… have you ever done that before?"

"Nope, first try."

Weiss' eyes remained on him for several seconds more, then suddenly, she reached out and dope slapped him.

"Ouch…" he muttered, though the smile on his face belied the fact that it was practically painless for him.

"Next time, at least tell me when you're going to do something so foolhardy," Weiss groused, crossing her arms as she fell back onto the seat.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? Besides…" Jaune's face fell into a frown as he looked to the side. "We're not out of the woods yet."

There, still keeping up with them, was the Bullhead from before, and now they were in a wide expanse with no places to hide.

"We're close, though," Jaune stated, nodding forward.

Weiss looked in that direction. To her surprise, she could see the sea there. They had already made it to the edge of Mantle?

That's when a question sprung to her mind.

"Um, Jaune… May I ask something important?"

"Unless you suddenly lose use of your vocal cords, which would be a damn shame, go ahead."

Deadpanning at his jab, she asked, "How, exactly, do you plan to get us past that expanse of water?"

"Through a bridge," Jaune responded.

"What bridge?!" Weiss exclaimed. They were approaching the sea at a rapid pace, and she saw no bridges at all.

That is, until Jaune turned the car to the left sharply, diving into another cornucopia of trees. As they came out of the small forest moments later, returning to actual asphalt, Weiss finally saw what he was talking about.

" _That_ bridge," Jaune mused.

There, standing on the sea like a relic of times past, was an enormous bridge whose endpoint was impossible to see with the naked eye, but which she could tell stretched all the way to Anima. The bridge looked decrepit and unused, with the long spires that were placed every half mile, which she was sure would normally stand proud, in pieces and crumbled.

"What is that…?" Weiss asked, wonder in her voice.

"That… is the Bridge of Hope," Jaune said in a low voice. "It was a bridge that was meant to combine the continents of Anima and Mantle after the Great War. It was meant to be a symbol of hope, like the name says… but almost the moment construction was done, the bridge was attacked by a massive horde of Grimm. The soldiers meant to protect it fled, leaving it deserted and abandoning the workers and the families that were using the bridge to the slaughter, and since then, it's remained here, cast off. The first person to have ever actually used it since those days is me, once I found out about it."

"But why have we never heard of this?" Weiss asked.

"This bridge was one of Mistral and Mantle's greatest failures, both in people and in resources. To prevent anyone from knowing, they essentially barred all knowledge of it from the books, and once airship travel was invented, nobody really paid it mind."

The pair remained silent for a few moments, listening closely to the sound of the approaching Interceptor Bullhead, when Weiss noticed something off about the bridge now that they were approaching it directly.

"Wait a moment… Jaune… where's the road?!" she exclaimed.

"Ah, about that…"

The path to the bridge was completely destroyed. There was a half-mile stretch of air between the edge of the road and the nearest end of the bridge, with absolutely no support or way through between them.

"Jaaaaaauuuuune!" Weiss exclaimed in a drawn out tone.

"I know what I'm doing, Weiss; calm your tits!"

The sudden retort leaving her speechless, Weiss just watched as they continued approaching the bridge. When they were about a mile away, Jaune suddenly took a right, taking one of the exits that would have normally gone onto the bridge. The road began to slope upwards, and when she saw the destroyed end of the road they were on, the pieces connected in Weiss' mind.

This wasn't an exit.

This was a _ramp_.

Weiss immediately turned to Jaune, who she could now see was flipping one of the switches on the console. A slot opened up just behind the e-brake, and inside, Weiss could see what looked like the hilt of Crocea Mors. She watched as Jaune wrapped his hand around the blue leather, keeping the steering wheel steady, then begin to glow as he channeled his aura.

"Hold on to your skirt, Weiss!"

The ex-heiress was just barely able to settle herself when the car suddenly _blasted_ forward, their speed doubling rapidly. The ramp approached at an even faster rate, and in a moment, a feeling of weightlessness came over her again as they shot into the air.

Weiss' mouth opened, but no sound came out. The adrenaline rushing through her body made the scene almost slow down, and as she turned to look out the window, she could still see the Interceptor Bullhead chasing them, keeping up with them to the right of the bridge. A sense of anger coursed through her, her blood pounding in her ears as she thought of her father, probably cozily sitting in his study awaiting the news of her capture or demise with nary a feeling of remorse. As the feeling of adrenaline inside her hit its apex, along with their jump, Weiss suddenly grabbed onto Myrtenaster and channeled her aura through it in order to use it as a focus, bringing her Semblance up to bear faster than she had ever done in her life. The girl held her open hand out towards the Bullhead, bringing to mind the strongest servant she had in her arsenal; one of the greatest enemies she had ever faced, and one that she now knew she could control.

But she didn't need it entirely.

The Bullhead suddenly swerved as a massive snowflake glyph appeared in front of it. It attempted to go around its right, but the spinning glyph turned with it, and out of it appeared the same great sword that she had used to protect Velvet with back in the Fall of Beacon. Glowing with power, the arm that wielded the weapon pulled back, then slammed the sword down, cutting through the tail of the Bullhead like a knife through butter. At the low apex of the sword swing, the glyph disappeared, leaving behind the falling halves of the Bullhead in its wake.

Silence reigned in the car for no more than a split second before a slam jolted the pair in it, serving to bring Weiss back to Remnant quickly. Her view twisted as Jaune drifted to a stop, coming up at the very side of the bridge, where the pair watched as the Bullhead fell into the sea with a muted crash.

Weiss sighed, her adrenaline boost leaving her with the exhalation, and she leaned back against the seat, wiping her brow. She turned to look at Jaune, who was also looking at her with wide eyes.

"Damn… that was amazing," was all Jaune said.

Weiss chuckled tiredly. "Thank you. It's only one of the new skills I have."

"Well, it certainly seems like it can come in handy, but… you look exhausted."

"Yes, it _is_ rather tiring to summon that…"

Jaune looked out the windshield, where the quiet expanse of the abandoned bridge awaited. A dense fog cloud was settled on top of the bridge, as it always was, so the blonde sighed and looked back at his companion.

"Take a rest. The remainder of the trip is going to be a boring one."

Weiss looked at him curiously. "You won't be bored in the silence?"

Jaune snorted. "I'll be fine, Weiss. Seriously, go to sleep."

Weiss nodded, tilting her seat backwards. "Yes, _sir_."

She hardly heard his chuckle as, her sight went dark almost immediately.

* * *

The sound of a horn jolted her awake.

The white-haired girl immediately sat up, almost slamming her body against the dashboard. Looking around, it took her a moment to figure out her surroundings.

The car was stopped in front of what appeared to be an inn, parked and off. All around them were buildings, and out the windshield, Weiss could see a wide view of a beautiful city, one that she had seen only in books before. Noticing no other cars around them, Weiss' eyes narrowed as she turned to her left.

Sitting next to her, a grin on his face, was Jaune.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he chuckled, fiddling with a few of the switches on the console.

"Did you _have_ to do that?" Weiss groused, stretching as best she could.

"Yes."

That simple response elicited a groan from her. " _Why_ , Jaune?"

The blonde shrugged. "Look out your window. You'll see."

Weiss did so, looking at the inn they were parked next to once again. This time, however, she noticed on more detail that had not been there before. A detail that left her breathless.

There, standing at the door of the inn, was one Ruby Rose. The redhead's hand was clenched against her chest, and a look of apprehension was on her face.

The ex-heiress looked back at Jaune, her eyes looking for an explanation.

"What? Did you think I was going to just leave you up in the air here in Mistral?" Jaune questioned. "As if."

"But… how is she here? _Why_ is she here?"

"Ruby's uncle, Qrow Branwen, apparently found out that Mistral was the place where the woman who attacked Beacon, _Cinder_ , came from." Weiss couldn't miss the hateful way he pronounced the woman's name, and the unbridled fury in it sent a shiver up her spine. She had never seen Jaune truly furious. Annoyed and somewhat angry, yes, but not furious. Taking a deep breath in order to calm down, Jaune turned back to her and continued, "So once she recovered from whatever she did back at Beacon Tower, she called Ren, Nora, and myself in order to recruit us."

"I'm assuming you had already started your pickup service by that point?" Weiss guessed.

"Yep, and I was more than happy to bring them here. I couldn't stay, however." Jaune looked down momentarily, his eyes narrowed in despondency. "There was still too much for me to do. Every day, there was always someone new that needed help. I couldn't just ignore that." A smile broke the gloom on his face the next moment. "Ruby, though, was completely understanding, and she even suggested going on alone so Ren and Nora could come with me. I refused, of course, but that girl is something else."

"Tell me about it," Weiss chuckled.

"I promised her I'd keep an eye and ear out for any new leads on Cinder or her entourage, but I think _this_ present might go over better. Should we get a bow for you to wear?"

"That's Blake's schtick, not mine," Weiss responded with a smile, swatting his shoulder. The mention of the Faunus brought down her mood somewhat, though. "Now that you mention that… have you heard anything about Blake?"

Jaune nodded. "I saw Sun just before coming back home, and we've kept in contact for that and so he can tell me if he finds anyone that needs help. The last message he sent me was a few days ago. He told me they're headed for Menagerie."

"Blake's home," Weiss sighed.

"Yeah. No other updates yet."

"And Yang? Anything about her?"

Jaune nodded his head out the window. "You'll have to ask _her_ , not me."

Weiss looked back out the window, nearly jumping out of her skin. Ruby had already come close to the window, sticking her face close to it in order to try and peer inside. Since the car's windows were tinted dark, that was a practice in futility.

Slowly, Weiss reached out and grabbed the handle of the door. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Jaune, who nodded in support, then opened the door.

Ruby jumped back as the door suddenly opened, and her silver eyes widened as she looked at the emerging figure.

"Weiss? Is that you?!"

Weiss smiled, her eyes watery. "Hello, Ruby."

"WEISS!"

The ex-heiress was taken aback as Ruby suddenly jumped on her, pushing her back. As the ex-heiress' back hit the car, she felt Ruby's arms wrap around her.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again!" Ruby exclaimed, burying her face into her shoulder.

A ton of bottled emotions burst inside Weiss, and the white-haired girl wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her Beacon partner, the wetness on her eyes finally falling down her cheeks.

"I missed you too…"

The pair stayed in their embrace for a while, merely reveling in the feeling of being with each other again. Suddenly, though, Ruby pulled back and held her at arm's length, looking her up and down.

"Damn, you look fancy!"

A laugh bubbled its way out of Weiss' throat, the young woman returning the favor by checking out Ruby. "And you look more mature. I must admit, the rose-printed stockings are a nice touch."

Ruby grinned in response, then her eyes swiveled to just behind her. "Jaune, did you…?"

The white-haired girl turned her head, looking at the blonde that had brought her here. Jaune was standing on his side of the car, arm crossed and placed on the top and his head resting on them. "Well, she was the one who contacted me, but I figured I should bring her here."

In a blast of rose petals, Ruby ran around the back of the car and glomped him as well, making the pair fall to the ground and drawing a surprised exclamation from the blonde. Weiss quickly followed around, and the sight she came to made her almost crack up.

Jaune had fallen on his back, his hands on Ruby's hips and his face having the same amused face she had seen sometimes back in Beacon. Ruby had wrapped her arms around his neck and was happily rolling them back and forth on the ground, shooting out thankful phrases from her mouth at the speed of a gatling gun.

Jaune chuckled into Ruby's ear. "It was my pleasure, Ruby. Believe me, she makes a damn good battle partner. I can see why you were considered the strongest team in Beacon's first year lineup."

Ruby finally had the wherewithal to release the blonde, awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. Weiss took notice of the blush that was staining Ruby's cheeks, though the redhead shook her head in order to get rid of it before Jaune fully stood and looked at her. A delicate eyebrow was raised.

"This is an interesting little development…" Weiss mused to herself.

"Weiss? Is that you?"

The Schnee turned back to the inn at the sound of the familiar voice, spotting Ren and Nora exiting the inn hand-in-hand. A smile split her face as she looked upon them.

"Ren! Nora!"

"Wow, you've changed! Look at you!" Nora exclaimed, rushing over in much the same manner Ruby had. The orange-haired girl looked Weiss up and down. "That dress agrees with you well, girl!"

"I could say the same about you. You certainly know how to wear battle skirts," Weiss complimented in return. The white-haired girl turned to the third person of the trio, who was approaching the pair of them with a much more sedate pace. "Ren, a pleasure to see you again."

"You as well," Ren returned, and his voice sounded more… lifted than she had ever heard it before, as if a weight had been taken from his shoulders since leaving Beacon.

"I must admit, I always wondered what you'd look like with your hair loose," Weiss mused, looking at his flowing hair. "Certainly suits you."

"Right?!" Nora exclaimed as Ren rubbed his head awkwardly. The orange-haired girl jumped on the quiet boy's back, wrapping he arms around his neck. "I told him the same thing when he started growing it!"

Ren merely chuckled in response.

"What? You're leaving already…?"

The sad words from the red reaper brought their attention back to the pair of leaders.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded, his face neutral. "I've still got a few more pickups to do, and I do need to finish working on that Bullhead."

Ruby's eyes fell to the ground. "Oh… Right…"

Jaune looked at the girl for a moment, then sighed and reached out, pulling her into a hug. Ruby's eyes watered a little as she returned it, but no words were said between them. After letting her go, Jaune nodded at her, then turned to Ren and Nora, walking over to them.

"Hey, guys."

"Shouldn't that be 'bye, guys'?" Nora challenged him.

Jaune winced at her words. Weiss merely watched the display with a raised eyebrow. There was clearly a rift here.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…"

"Do you, Jaune?" Nora asked with narrowed eyes.

At those words, Jaune straightened, his eyes narrowing in return. "I know enough."

Whatever meaning there was behind those words was much stronger for Nora than it was for Weiss, for the girl frowned deeply and let go of Ren, stalking back into the inn. With a raised eyebrow, Weiss turned and headed towards Ruby.

Jaune sighed as the door slammed shut, his breath coming out full of regrets. He turned to the remaining side of the inseparable pair, saying, "Ren… I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Jaune," Ren responded in a soothing tone, walking up to the blonde and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I understand what you're doing, and you know I approve wholeheartedly. But Nora… she was really looking forward to reuniting after what happened to… to Pyrrha. She just needs more time."

"Yeah… I suppose. One day, I know we'll be able to be together again completely, but… not now. Not yet."

Ren nodded, pulling Jaune into a hug that the blonde reciprocated. After separating, Jaune nodded to his friend, then turned and headed for the car. He stopped halfway, though, upon realizing Weiss was standing in front of his door.

"So that's it, then? You're leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah. My job here's done," Jaune shrugged.

Weiss' eyes narrowed. "Is that was this was? Just another job?"

"Wasn't it just that to _you_?" Jaune challenged in response.

"I've heard that responding to a question with a question is a sign of stupidity," Weiss smirked, hoping to get a similar response.

Instead, all she received was, "Didn't we already establish that I was an idiot? No need to rub it in."

Everyone stared at Jaune, silent over his self-deprecating answer. That is, until Weiss scoffed and said, "Yeah, you're certainly not the same person you were back in Beacon."

Jaune raised an eyebrow in response. Shaking her head, Weiss stepped away from the driver side of the car, walking towards the back of the car. Without that block, Jaune opened the car's door and sat, letting out a sigh as he closed it. He reached down to open up the boot of the car so Weiss could get her luggage, but before he could, the passenger side door suddenly opened up, and before he processed what had transpired, Weiss was once again sitting on the passenger seat, putting on her seatbelt.

"Erm, Weiss…?"

Weiss merely sat there, staring at him calmly. "Well? Let's get going."

"…"

"What?"

Jaune blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"You've got other people to pick up, right? Well, I'm coming with you."

Jaune straightened up in surprise. "But… why? I thought you would have stayed with Ruby and the others."

"Yes, I normally would have…" Weiss sighed, turning to face Jaune fully. "I would have, if it weren't for the fact that I know a certain lunkhead that would be terribly bored picking up survivors on his own and might die out there without some help."

"Weiss…" Jaune sighed. "If this is some kind of atonement or guilt-induced reasoning, I already told you that-."

"This has nothing to do with that," Weiss insisted, cutting him off. "Jaune… You're not the same. You've changed, but not for the better. You're doing good deeds, of that there's no doubt… but you don't seem to believe in yourself or your self-worth anymore."

Jaune's eyes widened. The ex-heiress had practically hit the nail on the head there.

"Because of that, I will go with you. Until you realize that you _are_ worth something to Ruby, to your teammates, and to me, I will accompany you."

Jaune remained silent for a moment. "I… I mean… Where's this coming from?"

Weiss smiled lightly. "When I was basically under house arrest, I had a lot of time to myself, Jaune. I thought over many things, and one of them was certainly how you would be after Pyrrha's death. You can call it atonement if you wish, but even if you _were_ annoying as ever before, you at least believed in yourself and had confidence. Now… you're a shell of what you were, and it hurts to see that, Jaune. I'm sure if you ask any of the others, they would respond with the same reasoning. But since they have their own problems, I will be the one to go with you."

"… Are you sure about this?"

"Hey, I already have my seatbelt on."

Jaune chuckled at her reasoning, shaking his head. A sigh escaped his lips, but eventually, he opened his eyes and looked at Weiss with a smile, his eyes shining in a way that gave her a feeling of déjà vu.

"Weiss… Thank you."

Weiss smiled in response, and the two would have likely stayed like that for a while if not for the knock on Jaune's window. Rolling it down, Jaune was met with a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving him speechless.

"You two better take care of each other, you hear?" Ruby said, her face flushed red at the action she had just taken. "I was always worried about you going off on your own, Jaune. At least now you'll have some company."

Jaune blinked, looking between Ruby and Weiss in bewilderment. "You're okay with this?"

"Sure I am," Ruby responded with a smile. "Weiss told me that she was planning to do so since you told her about what you've been doing. I can't say that I don't feel sad at her leaving as soon as she arrived, but at least now I know she's well and away from _daddy dearest_." The trio laughed at that.

As it tapered off, Jaune sighed, a soft smile still placed on his face. "Thank you, both of you. I get what you're doing… and I promise, I'll do my best to improve."

Both girls nodded, and with that, Ruby headed back inside.

"Well then, shall we get going?" Weiss suggested.

"You bet," Jaune responded, a smirk on his face and his hand falling on the gear shift.

A moment later, and with the sound of rolling gravel, a muscle car raced away from the inn, driving directly towards the setting sun.


	21. Resistance?

**You know how a lot of anime have that once episode that everyone unofficially dubs "The Fanservice Episode"?**

 **Yeah, that's what this chapter is to this collection.**

 **The beginning of this is practically paraphrased from a comic drawn by LeonardoFRei called "Changing Room", which you can find here: art/Changing-Room-625889696. The rest is more or less me running with that and the theme of this entire collection.**

* * *

The whole debacle began one morning in the JNPR dorm room, where there were currently three females changing.

"Thanks for letting us change in here, Pyrrha," Yang said with a sigh as she unclipped her bra. "Our room's being inspected right now; no chance for privacy there."

"It's no trouble," Pyrrha assured her, sliding on a tank top. "I can understand how hectic those can be."

"You're lucky that two of you are guys and don't really take long in the shower and stuff," Ruby laughed as she pulled her corset out of her bag and put her uniform inside it.

"Yes, we are," Pyrrha agreed. "Jaune and Ren are fairly quick with showering and dressing, Jaune more so than Ren. He acts as though he's going to be manhandled out of the shower sometimes."

"Damn, you're _really_ lucky there," Yang groused, remembering the amount of time Blake could take in a shower. Were cat ears so hard to clean?! "Hey, wanna trade partners?"

Pyrrha laughed as she picked out a pair of comfortable shorts for herself. "No, thank you. I'm quite happy with my partner."

Putting on her shorts, Pyrrha sat on her bed and relaxed as Ruby and Yang continued changing out of their school uniforms. To her knowledge, Ren and Nora were currently in the cafeteria, and by the sisters' accounts, Weiss had taken Blake with her down to Vale in order to shop. What those two could have in common in clothing styles, Pyrrha couldn't say, but perhaps it wasn't for that.

The last of their group was Jaune, with whom she had finished her training some time ago. He had told her he had a few things to take care of in the locker room, so she had come to the room early, whereupon she had met with Ruby and Yang and accepted their plea for a changing space.

 _'Speaking of, wasn't he supposed to return about-?'_

Pyrrha's train of thought was cut off as the door to the room beeped and promptly opened.

Everything froze.

Pyrrha stared at the scene with mild horror. There, standing at the door, was Jaune himself, still wearing the tank top he used for training and carrying a gym bag. Standing to the right of the door, near the wall, were Yang and Ruby, frozen in shock at the sudden intrusion. Yang was halfway through putting on her usual orange tank top over her bra, her cleavage full on display, while Ruby had just finished putting on her corset and was about to pull up her skirt.

The silence in the room lasted for a mere moment before Jaune, with an eyebrow raised, walked into the room and to his bed, closing the door in the process.

"Hey, girls."

That was all he said. No stuttering, no frantic apologies, no immediate backing out; just a simple greeting and a walk to his bed. Dropping the bag to the ground, he pulled out his towel from inside it, along with a pair of jeans, and headed for the bathroom, muttering to himself, "That new X-Ray and Vav episode should be coming out today… gotta watch it… Haven't called mom in a few days… I think I could really use a gun… Maybe a revolver…?"

The mutters dissipated as the bathroom door closed, with the sound of the shower coming from there moments later.

Almost robotically, Ruby and Yang finished getting dressed, all the while Pyrrha stared awkwardly at the door.

"So… Wanna tell us what _that_ was all about?" Yang asked suddenly, taking a seat on Nora's bed and looking at Pyrrha with a raised eyebrow. Ruby sat quietly next to her, face still red in embarrassment from being seen like that by Jaune.

Pyrrha sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot that Jaune was set to return soon. When you asked me to let you use the room, I was not expecting him to come back so quickly."

"No, no, I don't mean that," Yang waved off her apology. "I mean the way Jaune acted!"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"Come on, Pyrrha. You couldn't tell me that _that_ is normal!" Yang insisted, pointing at the door where Jaune had come in.

"I don't think I understand what you mean."

"Pyrrha, be honest: if any guy walked into a room while a girl was changing, with her body on full display, you think they'd just ignore her like he did?" Yang insisted further.

"He didn't ignore you. He even said hi."

" _Pyrrha_ …"

"Oh… I think I understand now," Pyrrha chuckled. "You're surprised that Jaune didn't become a mess upon seeing you and Ruby, stuttering and quickly backing out of the room?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, I can't fault him for coming in; this is his room too. But why such a lack of reaction?" Yang edged closer to Pyrrha, her voice falling to a conspiratorial tone. "You think he swings for the other team?"

This time, Pyrrha outright laughed. "Yang, I'm more than sure he's straight. Have you not seen how he pines after Weiss?"

"I don't know, being rejected so many times could turn a guy," Yang mused.

"Yang, believe me. I'm sure he's into girls. To be honest, I couldn't tell you. Jaune's just been like that."

"Like that?"

Before Pyrrha could go on, the door to the room beeped and opened once more, with Ren and Nora appearing this time.

"Hello! We're back!" Nora exclaimed. Noticing the two other occupants in the room, she quickly zoomed to her own bed and jumped on it next to the sisters. "Ooh! Are we having a party?"

"Not quite, Nora," Pyrrha laughed. The redhead went on to explain what had happened with Jaune earlier, only furthering Ruby's embarrassment.

"Oh, that? That's nothing new," Nora 'pshaw'-ed at the sisters. "Jauney's immune to womanly charms!"

"What? That's not possible. Someone like Vomit Boy?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Yup!" Nora assured. "I remember there was one time in our first semester that Pyrrha woke up before all of us and jumped in the shower first. Jaune was waking up just as she was coming out, and she wasn't expecting that, so she walked out almost in the nude!"

"Nora!" Pyrrha exclaimed, her face reddening at the memory.

"Almost?" Ruby asked.

"Well, she had on a towel, but it was _just_ at the edge of the nipple, ya know?" Nora responded, mimicking the position of the towel, furthering Pyrrha's embarrassment.

"And? What did Jaune do?" Yang asked.

"Nothing, really," Nora shrugged. "He just looked her up and down, then walked right into the bathroom without a word. Heck, he barely even acknowledged her at first."

"Yeah, but that was probably him being groggy so early in the morning," Yang scoffed, waving her hand at the story.

"Oh? You don't believe us?" Nora asked conspiratorially, rubbing her hands. "Then… how about we show you?"

Coinciding perfectly with her statement was the sound of the shower turning off.

"And how do you plan to do that? I'm not flashing him again for the hell of it," Yang stated.

"Easy!"

Nora's statement was followed by the girl jumping onto her bed and, in the blink of an eye, stripping of all articles of clothing on her except for her panties, a bright pink and striped pair. She quickly shoved the outfit behind her bed, hiding it from view.

"Nora!" Pyrrha and Ren exclaimed simultaneously, with the pink-striped boy close to face palming in exasperation.

"I'm free in the wind!" Nora exclaimed, happily bouncing on her bed.

Ruby and Yang just stared in bewilderment, still unused to the more brazen sides of Nora's personality.

At that very moment, the door to the bathroom opened, drawing everyone's sights to it. With his towel slung around his shoulders, Jaune stepped out of the steaming room, his hand messing with his wet, golden locks of hair in order to get them to lay down on his head. When his eyes opened, it was to come to the sight of everyone looking at him, with the exception of Nora, who was now doing flips as she bounced on her bed.

The two members of RWBY watched the blonde critically, their minds curious about what the females of JNPR had told them. Their minds were thrown for a loop when Jaune didn't even react to Nora's display of her body, instead walking over to one of the two dressers in the room.

"Nora," he called out with a perfectly even voice as he pulled open one of the drawers, pulling out a t-shirt. "Why are you naked and bouncing?"

"I was waiting for you to come out of the shower!" Nora responded, pumping her legs as she came back down to the bed and jumping from it to land directly behind him.

Pulling on his shirt, Jaune turned and looked down at Nora. Ruby and Yang once again kept a close eye on Jaune, looking critically at his face, and once again, they were surprised when his eyes consistently stayed locked on Nora's face.

"Well, bathroom's free. Have fun," he stated, reaching out and fluffing Nora's hair.

The girl stuck her tongue out impishly, then quickly dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door closed. Jaune chuckled at her energy and turned back to the group, only to raise his eyebrows at the critical stares he was receiving.

"What?"

That single question deflated Ruby and Yang.

"I'm going to the kitchens. Worked up a hell of an appetite earlier. Good training time, by the way, partner."

Pyrrha smiled at his compliment, and together, the four remaining students watched Jaune as he left the room. Silence reigned for a few precious moments, then Yang let out an explosive sigh.

"Alright, that's it! I'm getting to the bottom of this! I refuse to believe that! No teenage boy is immune to their hormones! None of them!"

Ruby wanted to point out the other boy in the room, but that thought was wiped out when she noticed Ren kept shooting glances at the bathroom and his cheeks had yet to let go of the minor blush on them from Nora's earlier stunt.

As Yang stomped towards the door, with Ruby hot on her tail, Pyrrha was tempted to call out to her, already knowing the reason since the dance. However, her more mischievous side stopped her, remembering all the times she would tease her and Jaune. Instead, she called out, "Best of luck, then!"

* * *

The very next day, Yang had already come up with a makeshift scheme.

Having explained what she'd discovered about the leader of JNPR to the last two members of the team (who both had an equally hard time believing it), the blonde bombshell had decided to wait for a time when Jaune would be passing by and spring her trap. She was sure that it would get some reaction out of him.

The moment came early afternoon, just after classes. Yang had immediately gone to her dorm room, preparing herself for the moment. When her scroll buzzed due to a message from Ruby, alerting her of Jaune's approach to the dorms, she began.

Creaking her door open slightly, she noticed her fellow blonde across the hall, just pulling out his scroll to open the door.

"Psst," she hissed, catching his attention.

"Yang?" Jaune questioned, turning and looking at her oddly.

"Jaune, mind helping me out here?" she whispered. "It's really important."

"Is it about why you bolted from Combat class?" Jaune asked.

"Just about," Yang responded, technically not lying.

Sighing, Jaune walked over to the RWBY door, pulling it open and stepping inside. However, when he came to the scene inside, he stopped.

Standing at the middle of the room, Yang was leaning forward, her hand across her bra-clad breasts in order to hold them up somewhat. Her semi-nudity was explained by the fact that she had a golden, strapless dress brought up to her waist, unzipped at the back and hanging loosely off her body.

"Could you help me out with the zipper of this dress?" Yang asked, putting on her best innocent face.

The 'back zipper problem' plan was one she had heard of a lot back in Signal, but she never really expected to use it. However, she expected that even a cliché idea like that one would succeed with Jaune.

To her chagrin, the young man was hardly phased. Instead, he sighed and asked, "Where's everyone else?"

"Probably still on the way," Yang shrugged, thinking quickly in order to explain it. "I wanted to try this dress out before they got here, as a surprise."

Surprisingly to her, Jaune didn't ask any more questions. He simply walked in, stepped around her, and asked her to stand straight up. When she did, he easily lifted the rest of the dress up to her chest, then zipped it up and stepped back. Yang quickly turned around, looking directly at his face and even shifting her shoulder a little more so that her chest would wobble somewhat, but besides a cursory glance at them, Jaune didn't react and instead focused on the dress.

"It looks pretty good," he said, tilting his head side to side. "Fits your figure well, and doesn't seem too restrictive. The gold goes pretty good with your hair, too. If I can suggest something, get a purple shawl to wrap around your shoulders. It would go well with your eyes, and the color would match well with Blake if you two have to attend an event together."

With that, Jaune nodded at her and headed out, leaving a shocked Yang standing in the middle of the room. The young man had been unfazed by her near-nudity from earlier, and he'd even gone so far as to give her advice on her outfit, advice that she had to admit was spot on.

Her eyes narrowed. This called for more drastic measures.

* * *

Over the next three days, Yang would try her hardest to get any kind of reaction from Jaune Arc. These acts would be either simple, every day actions (leaning over a little extra to show more cleavage or bending over when in front of him in order to try a more 'behind' approach) or somewhat complex (up to acting as though she was about to undress in front of him once when the teams were hanging out outside after classes), but no matter what she did, Jaune would not react as she expected or wanted.

By the fourth day, she was about to tear her hair out.

"This is ridiculous!" the blonde exclaimed. "Jaune _has_ to be gay in some way, no matter _what_ Pyrrha says! There's no way a guy can be a normal teenager and into girls, and at the same time be so… so… obtuse!"

"Big words there, Yang," Blake mused below her, reading one of her novels on her bed.

The two were the only ones currently in the dorm room, what with Ruby taking some extra time to practice the Ice Flower maneuver with Weiss.

The Faunus was startled when Yang suddenly dropped from her bunk to land next to her bed. "Blake, you need to help me! He won't stand a chance with two of us!"

"Nuh-uh," Blake quickly responded. "I'm not getting into this problem of yours, and I'm not interested in exposing my body to Jaune."

"You don't have to expose yourself!" Yang exclaimed. "Maybe show a bit of cleavage like I do or something, nothing drastic. Please, Blake! I'll do any favor you want, just help me out with this!"

That piqued Blake's curiosity. Yang was not usually a person that liked owing people favors. If she was willing to do that, she must have really been invested in this scheme of hers. With a sigh of resignation, she hesitantly nodded at her partner.

"Yes! Awesome!" Yang cheered. "Okay, here's what we'll do…"

* * *

The following day, Jaune and Ruby were in one of the training rooms, going over some of their conjoined team attack ideas in case they found themselves working as an eight-person team. Ruby, however, was more distracted than usual, thinking over what her sister had told her to do in order to go through with the crazy scheme of hers.

"Ruby, you alright?" Jaune asked, looking up from the papers they had on the ground.

Ruby pretended momentarily to be focused on the papers, then looked up at Jaune. "No, I think I'm missing one of my papers. Dang it, and it had a pretty good idea on it, too…"

"You want me to go get it for you?" Jaune asked kindly.

Ruby grinned, honestly happy at Jaune's caring attitude. "If you would… Here, you can use my scroll. Just give me a moment." Ruby quickly pulled out her scroll and texted her sister, indicating that the target was about to leave the room, and once that was received, she handed it to Jaune.

"'Kay, I'll be right back," Jaune nodded, standing and heading out of the room.

Ruby waited a few seconds to make sure he was gone, then sighed in resignation.

Jaune, none the wiser, walked with a light whistle as he headed for the RWBY dorm room. Once he arrived, he knocked on the door several times, and upon not hearing any response, waved Ruby's scroll over the reader. With a beep, the door unlocked, and the blonde stepped in. He looked around for a moment, then scratched his head.

"She never told me where it actually was… and I can't exactly text her now…"

The young man was about to check out Ruby's bed when his ears caught something.

 _"Yang, this wasn't part of…!"_

Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he turned to the source of the whisper, which appeared to come from the bathroom. Before he could move out of the room, the door to the lavatory opened suddenly, and a cloud of steam rolled out of it.

"Oh, calm down, Blake. I'm just saying that my boobs are bigger than yours, no need to be jealous," Yang spoke as she stepped out, her hair wet and a towel wrapped tightly around her body.

Blake stepped out just behind her, in a similar state of dress and wetness, though unlike Yang, her cheeks were dusted crimson. "A-and that might be true, but I still have the best butt of the team."

"Well, I suppose that- Jaune?" Yang cut herself off upon noticing the male blonde in the room.

"Hey," he greeted, raising a hand.

As Yang stepped forward to talk to him, Blake kept an eye on Jaune's expressions. Even though she had denied wanting to be part of Yang's scheme at first, she couldn't deny that she _was_ curious about Jaune's apparent immunity to sexual sights. She didn't believe it was a good poker face; everyone knew the young man as a rather emotional person. Nor did she believe that it was because of trauma, as was the case with her old partner Adam Taurus. He had never shown signs of having a traumatic past.

"What are you doing here, Lover Boy?" Yang teased, stepping rather close to Jaune.

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Ruby sent me to pick up a paper with team attack ideas she had. She never told me where it was, though."

"How did you even get in?" Blake asked, now stepping close to him as well.

Jaune lifted Ruby's scroll, which the girls immediately recognized by the rose engraving on the back. The two of them were more focused on the young man himself, though. To their combined chagrin, despite the fact that he was faced by two soaked and drying girls with decent bodies (in their humble opinions), and both of whom were only covered with towels at first sight, the blond had absolutely no bashful reaction.

"You two mind helping me look?" Jaune asked.

"Sure, we'll help you out," Yang nodded, softly nudging Blake with her elbow.

The Faunus, for her part, sighed and agreed. She could see where Yang was going with this.

The next few moments were filled with scenes that would not have been out of place in one of her more 'artistic' novels, including Yang giving Jaune a good view of her shapely bum by standing on Blake's bed and looking around her own; Blake giving a fair view of her own, more shapely rear to the male blonde by bending over her own bed; and even the pair of them squeezing their breasts together temporarily while 'arguing' about giving the other space to search Ruby's bed, both making sure to shake their more seductive parts.

Yet, no matter what they did, Jaune was entirely unfazed, accepting their movements without any words or reactions and simply waiting for them to finish up. This drove even Blake nuts as the pair of girls tried to figure out why Jaune was as he was.

In the end, the paper was never found.

* * *

Finally, by the time the weekend rolled around, Yang exploded.

Jaune was laying on his bed, reading an X-Ray and Vav comic, when there was a sudden commotion outside his dorm room. Tilting his head to look over, he started when the door to the room was thrown open and a group of people stepped in.

"That's it!" Yang yelled, her eyes red and flames flickering in her hair. "This is driving me nuts!"

Just behind her were the rest of both teams. Ruby and Blake were looking at Jaune with similar questioning faces, while Weiss was just looking at Yang in a shocked manner. Nora and Ren were looking at Yang in askance, wondering where this anger had come from, while Pyrrha merely smiled impishly off to the side.

"Jaune! Get over here!" Yang exclaimed, immediately rendering that order worthless by dashing over to his bed and lifting him up by his shirt.

"Whoa, Yang, what the hell?!" Jaune exclaimed, raising his hands in surrender.

"Tell me!"

"Tell you what?!"

"How?! How are you so resistant to boobs and butts?! Are you limp in the pants?!"

Silence reigned in the dorm for a few moments, which was broken by Jaune suddenly bursting out into laughter.

The red in Yang's eyes dissipated as confusion filled her. "What are you laughing about?"

After getting his laughter under control, Jaune responded, "I was wondering why you were giving me so many good views." He looked over her shoulder at the Faunus in the room. "Blake, I suppose you were in on it too?"

"She convinced me," Blake sighed. "I must admit, though, I am just as curious as Yang is now."

"So am I," Ruby chimed in.

"I suppose that's why you sent me to your dorm two days ago, then, looking for that 'paper'?" Jaune questioned the red reaper, placing air quotes around the word paper.

Ruby nodded unashamedly.

"Wait, what? What happened in our dorm room?" Weiss demanded.

Jaune quickly summarized the situation, leaving the heiress gaping in shock and indignation. As she recovered, Jaune turned back to Yang, who was looking at him with eyes narrowed. "Yang, I'm gonna be honest, I thought you were trying to seduce me at first."

"No, not exactly," Yang denied. "But when you walked in on Ruby and I changing a week ago, I refused to believe that you non-reactive to womanly charms."

Jaune smirked knowingly, looking over her shoulder once again. "You didn't tell them, did you?"

Everyone turned to the person he was addressing, who stepped into the room and stood next to him, brushing her red hair innocently. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about, partner."

"Yeah," Jaune chuckled, bumping Pyrrha's shoulder. "I'm sure you don't."

"Wait, what?" Yang asked. "What's going on?"

"I think Pyrrha just played a prank on you," Jaune laughed.

"What?!"

"Yang, I never told you about my family, did I?"

The sudden question confused the blonde. "No, not that I remember."

"Yeah, I figured." Jaune sat on his bed, sighing. "Matter of fact, I don't think I told your team at all."

"Nope," Ruby stated, sitting across from him on Nora's bed. "Now, what's this about your family?"

Weiss and Blake followed suit, sitting next to their team leader.

"My family's not exactly standard," Jaune started. "For one, since I was a child, we've always been open with each other. We try our hardest not to tell each other lies, and we're fairly straightforward with our thoughts. That being said, there's a more _physical_ difference between my family and any of yours."

"And that would be?" Yang asked, desperately curious now.

Jaune looked at the girl directly, a small smirk on his face. "I have a fairly big family. There's me… my parents… and seven siblings."

Four pairs of eyes widened.

"Seven _female_ siblings."

Four jaws fell like meteors.

"What?!" RWBY exclaimed in tandem.

Jaune nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's about the reaction everybody has."

"How did you survive?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I have a hard enough time with _one_ older sister!"

"Hey!" Yang cried out, making JNPR laugh in tandem.

"It wasn't easy," Jaune conceded. "I'm the second to last child of my parents, so I have six older sisters and one younger one. _That_ is the reason why I'm so resistant to your teasing, Yang. Like I mentioned before, my family's pretty open with one another. We know each other inside and out. None of my sisters are the same, either. They're all different, mentally and physically. When you're surrounded by most female body types your whole life…" Jaune shrugged. "You get used to it."

None of RWBY said a word, still trying to wrap their heads around it.

"But… that doesn't explain not reacting at all to sexual acts," Weiss pointed out, shaking off her stupor.

"There was plenty of that, too," Jaune responded. "When I was a baby, according to my parents, my sisters would dote on me, dressing me up and making me do all kinds of silly things. When I was a little more grown, that turned to practical jokes and things like that, though never malicious. By the time I hit my teenage years, though… that grew to outright teasing and more physical bantering. Believe me, at first, I was a hell of a mess. I've seen my sisters doing all kinds of things, so eventually…" Jaune shrugged again. "Like I said, you just get used to it."

Silence reigned in the room once more, though it was broken moments later by Ruby suddenly jumping to her feet.

"So _that's_ why you can resist my puppy dog look!" she exclaimed.

Everyone stared at her for a moment, then JNPR burst out laughing. "Yeah, Ruby, that's why," Jaune responded, wiping the laughter tears from his eyes. "My little sister would pull off some spectacular puppy looks to try and get me to do whatever she wanted. Unfortunately for her, I grew a pretty thick skin to those quickly."

Yang sighed explosively, drawing everyone's attention. The blonde looked to Pyrrha, who was pulling off a camera-worthy innocent face. "You knew this whole time and didn't tell me, Pyrrha?"

The redhead shrugged. "You never asked."

Everyone but Yang laughed at her explanation.

"All of that time, and for what? It was pointless!" Yang whined.

"Well, since I now know just what you were doing and why," Jaune said, drawing her attention, "I can say this: you do have a marvelous body, Yang."

The female blonde responded in a way that even her sister had not seen since she consciously knew her: she blushed hotly, bolting out of the room amidst the laughter of the group.

As the laughter tapered off, Jaune turned to the other side of the Bumbleby pair. "You as well, Blake. You were right on one thing, you do have a better-shaped butt than Yang."

Blake took the compliment much more calmly, only responding with a smile and a nod.

"It's funny," Jaune wondered aloud, drawing everyone's attention. "It was a lot easier than usual to ignore Yang's teasing because she looks almost like a copy of my oldest sister, Azure. The only difference is their eye color."

The blonde suddenly stood up, heading over to the male dresser and grabbing his towel.

"Where are you headed, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

The blonde looked back, an awkward smile on his face. "… I need a cold shower. I'm resistant to teasing, but I'm still a straight guy."

Almost unconsciously, three pairs of eyes immediately traveled down the length of Jaune's body.

Ruby blushed.

Pyrrha's eyes widened and she turned away.

Blake merely smirked and nodded knowingly.


	22. Time Travel by Any Other Name

**This might easily be the longest chapter I've written for this collection. Also, I think it makes a pretty good idea for a reversal of the usual 'Jaune travels back in time/Divergence-style' stories.  
**

 **Inspiration: Quantum Break. Not gonna lie, I love that game's story.**

* * *

 _"It's Jaune! Where are you?"_

"Weiss! Please, you have to stop her!"

The blond was panicked, having landed who-knows-where in Vale. He didn't have many options, but he knew he had to do _something_!

 _"What?!"_

"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed. "She's going after that woman, at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!"

Jaune stopped, hoping against hope that the heiress would understand.

 _"Jaune, what are you talking about?! Where are you?!"_

Frustration built up inside the boy.

"Don't worry about me!" he yelled into the scroll. His voice lowered moments later. "Please… You have to save Pyrrha…"

 _"We will. Are you okay?!"_

Okay?

No, he wasn't okay. Not at all.

The young man yelled in infuriation, throwing his scroll to the ground, where it shattered. He fell to his knees, despairing over the situation.

"This is all my fault… Why, damnit?! I should have kept an eye out! I should've trusted that Pyrrha could handle it!" Jaune exclaimed, fisting his own hair in anger. "I need to get back to Beacon… But how?! Damnit, Pyrrha, why?! Why did you do this?!"

The boy looked up at the glowing towers of Beacon Academy.

"I'll never get there in time."

The statement was his sentencing. It was all he could say.

Time… it was always missing for him. There was never enough _time_.

Never enough time for his father to teach him.

Never enough time for him to improve.

Never enough time to tell his family his decision.

Never enough time to prepare for coming to Beacon, for initiation, or for being a leader.

… Never enough time to thank her…

"No…"

The whisper broke out from his mouth, a sense of urgency mounting inside him.

"I _have_ to go… I _have_ to help her…!"

His hands clenched, and from within him, his soul began to pulse.

"I _need_ to be there for her… She was always there for me… I just… I need…"

His teeth grit in anger and determination.

His aura pulsed brightly.

"I need **time**!"

A heavy pressure descended upon him… and the world stopped.

Jaune shuddered out a breath, his hands unclenching. He felt… _off_ , like something about him was different.

He opened his eyes, intent on heading back to Beacon at whatever cost… and stopped in shock.

The world around him was frozen.

Jaune's wide eyes roved over the scene. Everything around him was standing still, tinted in a blue hue, as though he had placed a filter on a picture. Beowolves were frozen mid-slash, aiming for civilians whose screams were echoing in place. Smoke paused in its float upwards, and fires around him were unmoving.

Jaune turned back and forth, his mind filled with questions until a single stray thought stopped him.

 _'Time…'_

The young man looked down at his hands, which were covered in his aura. In fact, his whole body was glowing with the ephemeral energy, coating him in a pure white shield. Jaune closed his hands into fists, testing his movements. While he could still move, it felt at least twice as hard to just do that.

"Did I… stop time?" Jaune questioned, looking at the scenery around him once more. "No… can't be. I've heard of strong semblances, but this… this is _impossible_." Looking back down at his hands, the blond noted the way he was constantly glowing and realized the difference. "No… I didn't _stop_ time. I… I'm shielding myself from it… I pulled myself out of the time stream?"

He blinked in stupefaction at that thought.

"Man, that sounds weird…"

His focus returned to where it was before.

"Pyrrha…"

Looking up, he could still see the spires of Beacon Tower. If he squinted his eyes, he could also see a black shape stuck on the side, unmoving.

"Hold on, Pyrrha. I'm coming. I won't let you deal with this on your own anymore."

With that, the young man set off, running through the frozen streets of Vale.

* * *

He ran into a problem some time later.

His new Semblance was difficult to control. Now that he was conscious of what he was doing, he had to remain focused at all times, else his time-shielding effect would end and he would end up back in the time stream. It had already happened twice to him, once while he was running and was startled by a frozen Beowolf that had been turning the corner at the time (which almost bisected him had his reflexes not drawn Crocea Mors quickly enough), and another when he came to a scene of a crumbling building, where he returned to time just to watch it collapse and bury helpless civilians and soldiers.

Now, he was stuck on how to get to Beacon. He was currently at the Valean Airport, but if he went back into time, he doubted he'd be able to convince anyone to get him to Beacon in time, what with the panicked situation on the airstrip right now. There were a few Bullheads around, some being the large Carrier type that were ferrying civvies to safety, while others were the standard type.

The young man looked around desperately, hoping for an answer. The answer came in the form of one of the standard Bullheads, which seemed to be in the process of taking off.

He quickly ran over to it, hopping onto it through the half-closed doors. As soon as he was inside, he closed his eyes and focused, stopping the effect on his aura. The world lurched around him as he returned to time with a sound similar to breaking ice, and he was forced to grab on to one of the bars above to not fall. Gritting his teeth, he quickly walked up to the cockpit.

"What the hell?! Who are you?!" the pilot yelled, having been sure he was alone on the ship.

"Beacon student," Jaune responded quickly, pulling out his identification card now that his scroll was shattered. "I need to get back to Beacon as soon as possible. It's an emergency situation."

The pilot stared at him with a raised eyebrow. "What about this _isn't_ an emergency, kid? You're damn lucky I was already headed to the Beacon helipad. Strap yourself in, this is going to be rough."

* * *

The pair made it to Beacon fairly quickly, to Jaune's thankfulness. As the Bullhead began to prepare for docking, Jaune was already focusing on his aura, calling it up as he had done twice before now. With a mental command, his aura rose to the surface, and like pulling a trigger, time around him stopped.

The blond sighed, opening his eyes. As he hopped out of the frozen Bullhead, rolling to preserve momentum as he fell, he quickly surveyed the scene.

The helipad was not as bad as he was expecting. It seemed everything was already well-organized, and he could see Port and Oobleck standing near the path that led to Beacon with weapons drawn. Another pair near them drew his attention.

"Ren, Nora," Jaune murmured, jogging over to them. He knelt in front of the pair, looking them over. Nora seemed to be holding her leg, where he could see she had a fairly big gash. Her aura must have run out sometime earlier. Looking over to Ren, Jaune could see the young man holding his side, his face set in a pained grimace. The blond sighed, turning away from them. "I'm sorry, guys… I'll be back. I promise."

As he went to run towards Beacon, however, his eyes caught sight of another pair of persons laying near his teammates.

"Oh no…"

Yang and Blake were lying on the ground, the former unconscious, no doubt due to the lack of a right arm below the elbow.

"Yang…"

He approached her slowly, kneeling by her bad side. He looked at the wound with wide eyes, noticing the bloodstained bandages crudely wrapped around the stump. Looking over to the Faunus, Jaune was stricken to see a desolate look on her face, with one of her hands holding her bleeding side and the other tightly holding on to Yang's remaining hand.

His aura suddenly pulsed, making him wince in discomfort, and before his eyes, shades of the two girls appeared superimposed over them. As he looked around, he could see that there were similar, flowing shades overlaying Ren and Nora, and two more shades that were standing by Yang and Blake's feet, the frilly dress and side ponytail of the first, and the small and chubby shape of the second, giving off their identities immediately.

Jaune focused on the scene, and his aura pulsed once more, causing the shades to suddenly begin moving.

Shade-Weiss held a hand up to her mouth, looking over the injury to Yang, while Blake, Ren, and Nora nursed their wounds. Another shade suddenly came running, causing shade-Zwei to bark and catch shade-Weiss's attention.

 _"Ruby!"_

 _"Oh, I found you!"_

 _"Ruby, what-?!"_

 _"Don't worry, I'm fine! What's going on?"_

Silence.

 _"Weiss? What is it?"_

Shade-Weiss stepped aside after a moment, whereupon shade-Ruby saw the scene.

 _"I'm sorry…"_

Shade-Blake's tearful apology was simultaneous to shade-Ruby moving closer to the pair.

 _"I'm so sorry…"_

 _"Yang…"_

 _"Hey."_

One more shade stepped forth, this one of Sun Wukong.

 _"She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to get you guys to Vale."_

 _"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing-! Ugh…"_

Jaune sighed at shade-Nora's concerned words.

 _"What?!"_

 _"Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school. Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!"_

 _"We're not… leaving… Urgh!"_

 _"I'll find them…"_

Shade-Ruby's words silenced them all.

 _"I'll find them, and I'll bring them back…!"_

 _"No._ We _will find them. Watch after Blake and Yang. We'll be back."_

 _"You'd better be! Idiots…"_

The shades stopped moving, leaving Jaune struck and looking at Ruby and Weiss' shades heading towards Beacon.

"I have to keep moving..."

* * *

Minutes later, Jaune found himself at Beacon's courtyard, where Beowolves and Creeps ran rampant. As he looked around the destroyed area, his eyes fell upon a person.

It was Weiss, standing in one of her usual glyph-summoning poses and looking fiercely towards Beacon Tower. Next to her stood Ruby, watching her partner summon her glyphs. Remembering the declaration the pair had made to find him and Pyrrha, Jaune's emotions were moved enough for his time shield to fade, sending him back to reality.

A line of snow-white glyphs appeared on the side of Beacon Tower, leading up to the top. Weiss relaxed, then looked over to Ruby.

"You can do this," the white-haired girl stated with conviction.

Ruby nodded, wasting no time in running over to the tower. With a twisting jump, she landed on the side and began running up.

Sighing, Jaune walked up to the heiress, saying, "Not alone, she can't."

Weiss jerked in surprise when she heard the familiar voice. "Jaune! You're okay! Where have you been?!"

"From here to Vale and back, Weiss," Jaune stated. "Too much to explain, not enough time. At least, not for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jaune shook his head. "I'll explain after, Weiss... Take care of yourself."

Before she could respond, he called up his aura once again, and time around him froze.

Jaune looked at Weiss confused and worried facial expression for a few moments, then sighed and stepped closer to her, whispering into her ear, "I'll be back."

With that, he ran into the tower. Once inside, he looked around for the same elevator that would normally take students up to Ozpin's office. Its doors were wide open, and there was nothing inside but sparking cables. Looking up the shaft, Jaune whistled as he realized Pyrrha must have controlled the elevator box with her Semblance.

"Now, how am I going to get up there...?"

Noticing no other doors that could lead to the tower (which seemed like a dangerous design flaw to him), the blond decided to use what was at his disposal. Pulling out his sword, Jaune jumped into the elevator shaft, landing on one of the metal supports. Pumping his legs, he jumped and grabbed onto the next one, pulling himself up. As soon as he had a good footing, he went for the next level, and on and on, the blond Huntsman-in-training continued his climb.

It took a few more minutes, but eventually, he was able to make it to the top of the tower. Panting in exertion, the blond looked upon his newest obstacle: the elevator car that was currently at the top floor. As he looked upon it, Jaune focused on the bottom of the car, where he could see a fairly large hole had been blown open, likely by the woman that Pyrrha had gone after.

A shudder went through Jaune as he felt himself grow weaker, and suddenly, his control over his semblance wavered enough to shatter him back to reality. There was a sudden crash from above, which made the elevator car shudder in its place.

"Uh-oh..."

There was a grinding noise as the car suddenly began to slide down.

"Ah, crap..."

As the elevator began to fall, Jaune focused on his aura, once again forcing himself to call on his semblance. Time stopped around him, and not a moment too soon. Looking up, Jaune gulped as he realized the car would've crushed him if he'd been late for one second more.

"Focus, Jaune… Focus…"

Now, however, he had a better chance at getting through that floor. The blond shoved his sword upwards, stabbing through the floor of the car. Making sure his footing was secure, he proceeded to cut further open the hole on the elevator floor, until it was big enough for him to climb into. After entering the broken elevator and making sure he was maintaining control of his aura, Jaune used his sword to further widen the hole on the roof of the elevator, pulling himself out of it as soon as he did so.

Now standing on top of the elevator, Jaune focused on the open doors just above him. Jumping from his position, the blond grabbed onto the edge with his fingertips, then forced himself upwards and into the office.

Or at least, what remained of it.

What used to be Ozpin's office was now completely destroyed. Large clock gears and debris lay scattered all around, and the usual desk of the headmaster was embedded into what remained of the southern wall. That, however, only accentuated the scene he chanced upon.

The battle between Pyrrha and the woman was over. Pyrrha was laying on her knees, looking up at the woman. The mastermind behind the fall of Beacon was glaring at the redhead, a bow in her hands and an arrow halfway through forming itself in her palm.

Rage coursed through Jaune as he came to the scene, his control over his aural shield wavering and returning him to the present.

The arrow finished forming in the woman's hand, but before she could fire, another voice came to her ears from her right.

"Get away from her, you _bitch_!"

As both Pyrrha and Cinder turned to the newcomer, Cinder hardly had time to process the sight of the redhead's blonde partner standing at the door before her sight was filled by a wide, white and gold object.

Jaune's Semblance came up again, but this time, he didn't cover himself entirely. Instinctively, he called up his Semblance as he ran forward, his hand reaching down for his shield. In his sight, time slowed down and his speed increased, the pressure he usually felt around his being instead pulling him towards his target. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his sword, deployed his shield, and dashed forward, returning to time directly in front of the woman.

Jaune's shield made brutal contact with the woman's face and torso, his increased momentum due to stopping time and running through it doubling the effectiveness of his shield bash and sending the woman flying back, whereupon she suddenly stopped moving entirely. Jaune stopped, staring at the frozen woman for a moment, then looked down at himself, where he could now see his shield was glowing with his aura.

"Huh, I channeled my aura through my shield… interesting."

"Jaune?!"

Pyrrha's bewildered calling of his name brought him back to reality.

"Pyrrha!" The blond quickly turned to her, his eyes widening as he noticed the cuts and bruises on her body as well as the way she was cradling her ankle. "What did she do to you?!"

"My… my ankle… I can't stand on it," the redhead said in a halting voice. "But Jaune… h-how…?"

Jaune let out a shuddering sigh. "You stupid, stupid woman…" Pyrrha's head snapped up at his comment. "I don't know whether to be glad I got here in time or be mad at you for that stunt you pulled."

Before either of them could say anything more, the sound of both boots and high heels falling onto the ground drew their attention.

The time-halting effect that had been on Cinder from Jaune's dashing shield bash had ended, and the woman was staring at them with pure murder in her eyes. Closer to the edge of the tower was Ruby, who had just arrived and was just now looking at the scene.

"Why, you little…!"

Cinder's right hand raised, a large sphere of flames being created upon it.

"It seems another child has come to the slaughter!"

"No, no, no, no!"

Jaune stepped in front of Pyrrha as Cinder swung her hand in a horizontal arc, a wave of flames being sent in their direction. The blonde called up his aura once more and quickly pulled the trigger, pulling himself out of time.

Silence reigned around him for a few moments before he dared look over his deployed shield. His eyes widened as he saw the motionless wave of flames just in front of his position, with Cinder just behind it, her face frozen in a hateful scowl. Behind her, Jaune could see Ruby staring at him and Pyrrha, her silver eyes wide and… glowing?

"That's… odd," he said, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts for the moment, turning around to see Pyrrha's frozen form, staring up at him with wide eyes. He reached down. "Come on, I have to get you out of the way…"

The moment he touched her shoulder, a pulse went through his aura, much like when he'd been at the helipad. Looking at his hand, Jaune noticed his aura was pulsing brightly there, crystal-like matrices forming from his palm and…

"… covering Pyrrha," Jaune finished the thought aloud.

Closing his eyes, the blond focused his aura to his palm, then reached out with it. In his mind, a probe seemed to fly out from him, searching in the dark desperately until another light appeared in his mind's eye, this one a muted and almost disappearing red. He reached out, willing himself to make contact with it.

A surge of aura went through Jaune's body, weakening him and making him open his eyes. Before his eyes, Pyrrha was being covered by a white glow, which originated from the point where his hand touched her shoulder. As her whole body was fully covered, Pyrrha's skin began to regain color, and when he saw her blink, he realized what had happened.

"Whoa!" Pyrrha jerked violently. "W-W-Wha-!"

"Pyrrha, hey, hey!" Jaune stressed, his grip on her shoulder tightening to keep her balanced. "It's okay. It's okay… you're alright."

Pyrrha was breathing heavily, her wide eyes looking around the frozen world. "Jaune… what…?"

"I'm guessing this… is my Semblance," Jaune explained shortly, waving his hand at the frozen world.

"You can stop time?!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"No, not exactly," Jaune shook his head. "Look at yourself."

The girl did, now noticing that she was covered in a familiar white glow, which had waves of red energy flowing through it.

"What is this?" Pyrrha wondered.

"I think my Semblance lets me pull myself out of time," Jaune explained his best hypothesis. "Like I'm shielding myself from the flow of time."

"As if time is a river, and you pull yourself out to walk along the edge," Pyrrha whispered.

"What?"

The redhead seemed to snap back to reality, shaking her head. "Oh, no, nothing. But… how did you pull me in with you?"

Jaune shrugged. "I don't know. It was just a gut feeling."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "A gut feeling?"

"Experimenting, I guess. I didn't know I could dash through time as well, but I did it against _her_."

Both of them turned to the woman. Noticing the slight movements of the flames and the way the lighting around them looked less blue, Jaune pulled out his scroll and gaped.

His aura meter was blinking at the red point already.

"Damn, doing that must have cost me some serious aura," Jaune whispered. "I've been pushing myself to get here in time. I guess I must have been running through aura at a serious pace."

"Jaune, what now…?" Pyrrha asked.

Turning back to her, Jaune realized the young woman had yet to move from her position. Remembering what she'd said about her ankle, Jaune sighed and knelt down next to her, picking her up slowly in a bridal carry.

"J-Jaune?" the redhead sputtered.

"I'm taking you to safety," Jaune said calmly, looking towards the pile of rubble that was to his right. "You can't fight anymore. Hell, you can hardly walk, and she's gunning for you. Your best bet is to stay hidden for now. With Ruby here, I think we can stall her enough to receive help."

"And what about _that_?" Pyrrha asked, pointing upwards.

Following her gaze, Jaune's mouth widened as he realized there was one more object he'd failed to notice in his anger.

Holding on to the side of the tower was the MOAG, the Grimm Dragon.

"Oh, hell…" Jaune whispered.

Quickly stepping over to the pile of rubble he'd seen, he placed Pyrrha down with her back to the rubble, the both of them just hidden from Cinder's view. Unfortunately, the moment he placed her down, a feeling of emptiness suddenly overtook Jaune, making him gasp and double over.

With the sound of shattering ice, Jaune's aura pulsed once and broke apart like glass, and with it, the glow around Pyrrha disappeared and the world around them returned to normal.

Pyrrha gasped, the exhale coming out weak and ineffective. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of an explosion just next to them prevented her from doing so. Looking over a heavily-breathing Jaune's shoulders, Pyrrha realized the wave of fire that Cinder had fired at them had continued its path, slamming into their previous position and causing an explosion that would've surely killed her, and perhaps Jaune as well.

A growl from behind them startled Jaune and Pyrrha, and when they looked, both were startled to see the eyes of the Grimm Dragon looking directly at them. Words failed the duo at that moment, the sight of the gargantuan creature drawing away all sound they could make.

But that silence allowed them to hear the words of their friend.

"Jaune… Pyrrha… No…! **NO!** "

His head jerking around, Jaune quickly realized that the sight of nothing being there after the explosion must have made Ruby immediately assume the worst. The girl was looking up at the sky, crying out her denial of that thought, and with that cry came what looked like wings of pure white energy that radiated from the girl's previously glowing silver eyes. His left hand automatically came up, the sound of shifting metal hardly reaching his ears.

The last sight he saw before the world around him disappeared into a white void was Cinder turning towards Ruby, screaming out a bewildered, "What?!"

…

A groan came from the blond as he came back to the living world.

Shaking his head, Jaune shakily made his way to his knees, coughing as he tried to get his parched throat some much needed liquid. When he was finally able to open his eyes without the world appearing a blurred mess, the scene he came up to was not what he expected.

Silence reigned on the top of Beacon Tower. Everything around him was frozen solid, and he instinctively knew that it wasn't just because the three living beings that were closest to the explosion of power unleashed by Ruby were unconscious. No, the world around him was tinted in a blue hue that he had seen several times now.

The world around him was frozen in time.

Jaune blinked, coughing once again. Squaring his shoulders, he did his best to stand up, but as he made his way to a crouching position, a surge of… _something_ made its way up his body, making him stumble. Gasping in shock, Jaune looked down at himself, now noticing the crystal-like patterns of light that were covering him. His eyes widening, Jaune forced himself to call upon his aura, but to no avail. No matter how much he reached into his own being, his aura wouldn't come up.

"At least… This isn't… entirely new…" Jaune said haltingly, coughing every few words as his chest complained at the sudden surge of air through his vocal cords.

Raising his head, Jaune looked at the aftermath of what had happened. Behind him, Pyrrha was still unconscious, lying next to the rubble with a troubled and possibly pained look on her face. Ruby was lying some ways away, trails of white, spark-like energy streams disappearing from the edges of her eyes. Just a few steps from Ruby was Cinder, laying on the floor and with her back to him.

Blinking in stupefaction at that last image, Jaune stepped forward, but the moment he did, there was a deafening sound around him, and time returned to normal.

Jaune gasped as a pressure he had before been unaware of suddenly disappeared, leaving him feeling freer and with more space to breathe, yet also leaving him weaker and making him fall to his knees. Looking around him once again, he realized what had happened with time and took census of the situation around him.

Pyrrha, he could now see, was starting to come around. The redhead groaned as she came back to the living world, her head going up to her hand. To his surprise, the sound of groaning metal came from her head, her golden circled suddenly bending and warping as she touched it. Another groan from in front of him made him turn away from Pyrrha, though.

Cinder was also starting to come around, rolling this way and that. Jaune's eyes narrowed as he looked upon the black-haired woman and the details he could see.

Cinder was a mess. Her usually smooth hair was burned and broken, strands of it sticking out everywhere. The woman's right eye was shut in pain, and with good reason, as her entire upper left side seemed to have been burned horribly. Her left arm was a shriveled mess, and her face was no better. Her left eye seemed to have been terribly scarred, with an x-like burn being left up to her nose.

Yet, no matter how she looked, no amount of pity came up from the blond.

All that was cemented into his mind was anger.

The mastermind of the Fall of Beacon began to stand up, struggling mightily all the while. It was clear her injuries were more severe than he realized at first glance. She managed to get up to her feet at about the same time he did, and the moment she turned to look at him, the sight of her narrowed golden eyes made a surge of rage pass through him. With that emotional wave, however, came an actual feeling of pain through his body, making him groan and bend over, a hand moving to his chest.

"What the hell…?"

The sound of footsteps made him snap his head upwards. Cinder was attempting to escape, struggling to make her way to the edge of the rooftop. Gritting his teeth, Jaune made his best attempt to ignore the pain and pushed his legs to move.

As he began running, time slowed in front of him, a wave of pressure making itself known on his body. Focusing on the now frozen target ahead, Jaune forced himself through it and pulled out Crocea from the shield still in his hand, running past the slowed form of Cinder and jumping. Placing his leg on one of the broken pillars of the tower, Jaune used it as a springboard to turn and jump towards the fleeing woman, his sword flashing just as time returned to normal.

* * *

A raspy scream echoed from the tower, startling Pyrrha Nikos back to complete consciousness.

The redhead's eyes opened in a snap, reflexes built from years of training kicking in. However, as soon as they did, her body protested, the exhaustion in it making itself clear. At the same time, there was a strange feeling inside her, a peculiar pressure that she was unaware of ever having.

Shaking her head lightly to get back on track, the girl looked up… and stopped in shock.

Lying on the ground, a small pool of blood underneath her, was Cinder. The woman's eyes were wide open and fearful, her right side shaking lightly. The shaking and pool of blood were explained by the fact that Crocea Mors was speared through her right shoulder, pinning her to the ground. The fearful look in her eyes was also clarified when she looked up and realized Jaune was the one holding Crocea where it was, his eyes narrowed in rage at the woman underneath him.

A memory surfaced in the champion's mind, reminding her of a day long past.

 _"There will come a time where you will see someone precious to you with a life in their hands. Trust in him, but also help him. Don't let him fall to anger."_

Her eyes widened at the memory, and she struggled to stand.

"J-Jaune…"

* * *

At the center of the office, Jaune panted as he looked down upon the prone Cinder, who stared back at him with wide eyes.

"You're not going anywhere…" he growled. "You think you can just stroll into Beacon, use it as your plaything, and just leave…?"

Cinder did not respond, but her eyes remained trained on his own. Scoffing in a low voice, Jaune pulled his sword out of the woman's shoulder, eliciting a hiss of pain from her that he had to admit was somewhat satisfying, then raised it above his own head.

"I don't know much about this Maiden business, but I know that you're a dangerous person. If you could defeat Pyrrha and Ozpin… You're too dangerous to be kept alive."

Cinder's eyes widened further as she saw his grip on the sword tighten further. She attempted to raise her hand and stop him, but as one was burned almost beyond recognition and the other's shoulder nerves had just been impaled with extreme prejudice, that was a difficult feat.

"For what you did to Penny, and Ozpin, and what you tried to do to Pyrrha…"

Crocea Mors glinted as Jaune swung down.

"Wait!"

The sudden voice made Jaune stop, the tip of his sword mere inches from the woman's neck. Turning his head, the blond blinked as he realized there was one more person there now.

A man with windswept hair, red eyes, and a tattered red cape.

"Who the hell are you?!" Jaune questioned, bringing his sword up to point at the man.

"Mister Branwen?" Pyrrha questioned, drawing Jaune's gaze to her. "How did you...?"

"Just call me Qrow, champ," Ruby's uncle said. "Mister Branwen is strictly for my students." The man turned back to Jaune. "And to answer _your_ question, I'm Ruby's uncle and one of Ozpin's operatives, kid. Name's Qrow Branwen."

"Ozpin's operatives? And yet you don't want me to kill her?" Jaune questioned, waving his hand at the woman behind him. "She's a danger to everyone here!"

" _She_ is also carrying the Fall Maiden abilities," Qrow stressed. "If you kill her, we don't have any idea who it might go to."

"Anybody's better than _her_."

"Even the one who ordered her to come here?"

Jaune blinked at those words.

"You don't know how the Maiden powers work, do ya, kid?"

"No. I was a little too busy watching Ozpin play games with my partner's soul and then trying to protect her from a power-hungry lunatic to really pay attention in class," Jaune growled.

Qrow sighed. "The Maiden abilities have always gone to women. However, when a Maiden dies, the power usually goes to the person that was last in their thoughts. If that person isn't a female, then it would pick any candidate in Remnant. The _problem_ is that Cinder here managed to steal half of the previous Fall Maiden's powers some time ago. Ever since then, she's been searching for the other half of it-."

"And the found it," Jaune intervened. "Killed another person to get it, too. And who knows how many she's killed since then and with this Grimm invasion? Letting someone like that live… It's not right!"

Qrow stepped forward, looking down at the wide-eyed Cinder. "Look at her, kid. Does it look like she can put up too much of a fight?"

"Not now, but what about when her aura recharges?" Jaune challenged.

"By that time, she'll be in custody."

"And you think you can keep someone powerful enough to kill Ozpin locked up?"

Qrow turned to Jaune. "Ozpin's… dead?"

"Either that or he's playing hide and seek. All I know is that Pyrrha and I left him fighting this chick, and she was the one that came out from that basement."

Qrow studied Jaune's face carefully, then turned to where his niece was laying. Frowning, he walked over and knelt by the girl, looking at her closely. "Ruby… looks like your Silver Eyes manifested."

"Oh yeah, about that… apparently Ruby can somehow launch some kind of energy beam through her eyes. What the hell is that about?!"

Qrow sighed, looking back at the blonde. "We don't have time for me to explain that to you, kid. I need to get her to safety, and then I have to check in on Ozpin. But I can't let you kill Cinder. This is the only time we really know where the Fall Maiden is, and if you kill her, our mission's back to square one."

Jaune's eyes narrowed, and his mouth opened, intending to ask about what this mission was, but before he could, a pulse of energy went through his mind and body. The blonde winced as his mind shifted, and when he looked up, time was once again frozen. However, this time everything around him was tinted red, and phantoms of images were flitting through his sight.

 ** _'If I kill her here…'_**

 _'Now we have no idea who it went to! You better hope it wasn't anyone dangerous…!'_

 _'There's been an attack in Mistral. Professor Lionheart is dead…'_

 _'No matter what, I will always be here for you, Jaune…'_

 _'You can't stop me… All those you love will suffer…'_

 ** _'But if I don't…'_**

 _'She will remain in Atlas' highest security prison until we can find a suitable person…'_

 _'Hundreds killed in the breakout…'_

 _'Why are there people after Ruby?!'_

 _'You need to retake control of the situation, James!'_

Jaune grunted as he focused on himself, trying to get back to where he'd been. However, no matter what he did, nothing made any sense and he couldn't return to time. It wasn't until he felt his aura throb as he thought back to those images that he realized what had happened.

"I have to choose…"

The blonde looked around, taking stock of the situation.

Pyrrha was looking at him, a strange look on her face. She seemed to be staring through him, though what she was looking for, he couldn't say.

Cinder was staring up at him, her eyes now narrowed in anger. She had attempted to bring up her injured right arm, but had hardly managed to get her shoulder off the floor. However, he could see small flames flickering around her, signaling that she wasn't done yet.

Qrow was standing by Ruby, a hand on her forehead. He was looking at Jaune expectantly, and when he saw the calm look in his eyes, he realized the man understood more than he let on. He was letting Jaune choose.

The blond closed his eyes, replaying the scenes in his mind. In the end, he nodded to himself and brought up his shield, deploying it and lifting it into the air.

Time retuned him to its flow just as he swung it down, and there was a tremendous _clang_ as Jaune's shield made vicious contact with Cinder's head, knocking the woman out and making the small flames around her disappear.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha whispered.'

Qrow blinked, surprised at the sudden movement. He raised an eyebrow as Jaune turned to him, the blond's eyes narrowed.

"She's all yours. Don't make me regret it…"

Qrow nodded, walking up the woman and lifting her onto his shoulder. He then turned and picked up Ruby.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I gotcha."

Jaune, meanwhile, walked over to his partner, kneeling in front of her. "Hey. How's your ankle?"

"Better, though I still can't put any weight on it," Pyrrha murmured, her hand tracing a line down her leg and to the affected area. "I can feel the body of the arrow she hit me with still there… it's not disappearing for some reason."

"Let me see," Jaune suggested, stepping over to her ankle and tenderly holding it. "Yeah, I see it… Okay, I'm going to pull it out. Ready?"

"Not really, but- ah!"

Jaune pulled the offending piece out quickly, immediately placing his hand over the wound to prevent any bleeding. Using his sword, the young man pulled his shirt with the other hand and cut off a fairly large piece, using it to crudely bandage the wound.

"It's not the most effective Band-Aid, but it'll do for now," Jaune murmured, tying the wrap on the girl's ankle.

"Thank you," Pyrrha mumbled, head bowed.

"Don't thank me, and what's more, don't think we're done here," Jaune said, his eyes narrowing. "We're still going to have a long discussion about what you did earlier."

The intensity in Jaune's gaze made the girl stare at him with wide eyes, his anger at her actions clear. However, she wasn't one to back down just like that. "I'm not going to apologize for what I did. I was merely thinking of your safety, Jaune."

"And what, you think I wasn't thinking of _yours_?" Jaune practically hissed at her. "Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible. Nobody has to think whether she'll survive a fight, whether she'll come back safe and sound. No, we should all just sit back and let her handle it, right?"

"I wasn't just going to sit back and let her do with Beacon as she wished!"

"Neither was I, but recklessly going to fight her wasn't the answer!" Jaune's voice rose a few octaves at that. "The world can't be saved by using pure force, Pyrrha! I don't know what the hell Ruby did to that woman to damage her like that, but if she and I hadn't appeared when we did, you know what would've happened?" He reached forward, poking her chest harshly. " _You_ would have died, _she_ would have left scot-free and none the worse for wear, and _I_ and every one of _our_ friends would have ended up depressed over your pointless death!"

Pyrrha gaped at the blond JNPR leader, having never actually seen him so worked up. She watched him close his eyes tightly, leather groaning as his fists closed firmly, and realized that he was trying to rein himself in. The realization only made her crush's arguments crash into her harder, though, and she ended up looking down in slight shame.

Jaune's eyes opened, bringing to his view the defeated pose his partner had taken. Sighing, he reached down and placed his hands under her legs and on her back, picking the girl up carefully. Realizing she had yet to look up, the blond sighed once again and said, "Pyrrha, look at me." When she slowly did so, he continued. "I'm mad about you sending me away, yeah. You have no idea how worried I was at the fact that you'd gone off to fight someone as strong as that woman without any help. In the end, though, I'm glad that Ruby and I were able to get here in time to save you. Just, please…"

The blond's head tilted down, his forehead coming to a rest against the stunned Nikos' own. With a small sigh, he simply said, "Remember, we're a team. We always look out for each other. Nobody in JNPR should have to do something alone, especially not you and I. You're my partner, my best friend… and hopefully something more. I _don't_ want to lose you, Pyrrha."

The girl gasped as he said this, her actions just before sending him away from the tower now coming back to her full force. With a similar sigh of regret, Pyrrha closed her eyes and leaned against Jaune. "I… I don't want to lose you either, Jaune. I'm sure my actions proved that. But… I just couldn't handle the thought of something happening to you, or to Ren or Nora." With another sigh, she continued. "You know how my life has been. I've been placed on a pedestal, Jaune. I was always alone. Even when I was with my family, I felt detached. I guess… that mentality has just become a part of my life all the same. Everyone values me so highly… but I just _don't_. I don't see myself as someone to be praised so much. I just want to be normal…"

Jaune chuckled, making the girl reopen her eyes in askance. "Well, the answer is clear, isn't it?" When it was clear she had no idea what he was saying, he smiled and brought out one of what everyone said was his more redeeming quality.

His bravery.

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she felt her lips be overwhelmed by Jaune's, her mind grinding to a halt as she realized what was happening. With a low moan of happiness, the girl's right hand came up to bury itself in Jaune's hair, deepening the connection. Jaune put all he had into the action, and Pyrrha responded as best she could with her weakened self.

Eventually, the pair separated, with Pyrrha breathing a little heavily at the action. Jaune just smiled, quickly catching his breath, then continued with his point.

"I'll just have to keep sticking by you and showing you just how much you're worth. Not just to me, but to our friends, and to everyone who knows you. Not the Invincible Girl, but _Pyrrha Nikos_ , Beacon student and my partner."

Pyrrha continued to just stare at him in stupefaction, but the moment she was about to say something, another voice cut in.

"Hey, mind giving me a hand here?"

The pair turned simultaneously to Qrow, who was standing by the broken doors of the lift with the two unconscious females over his shoulders. He motioned to the doors, where they could see there was nothing in the elevator shaft.

"Sorry to break up that little chat, but we need to get moving before we get mobbed by Grimm," the man insisted.

"I'm actually kind of surprised you waited that long," Jaune snarked, walking over to the man.

Qrow sighed. "I wasn't going to, but… well, I know what you meant with those words more than you know, kid. I've had those same feelings myself many times."

Somehow, Jaune couldn't bring himself to doubt that claim. Shaking his head, he turned to the doors, where he could now see that all that was left were broken remains of a pair of metal doors.

"Well… how are we going to handle this?"

Both the young and not-so-young men pondered the quandary in front of them, yet before they could bring up any solutions, there was a sudden metallic creaking noise, making both men startle. Looking back to the doors, the pair of them were startled to notice them groaning and bending, pulling themselves out of the walls.

It wasn't until Jaune noticed the black glow around them that an answer came to mind. His eyes immediately ricocheted down to the young woman in his arms, who was staring very intently at the doors.

"P-Pyrrha?"

At the mention of her name, the redhead blinked and started as if she had been dozing, and the black aura around her and the doors disappeared, returning the area to silence.

"Y-Yes, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, shaking her head slightly.

"How… How did you do that?"

Pyrrha looked at him, then glanced over to Qrow, who was also looking at her oddly. "I… I don't know. I was just thinking on how to get down, like you two… and I felt this familiar pull on my mind…"

"Like your Semblance?" Qrow asked tentatively.

"Yes, just like it."

"But, aren't you out of aura?" Jaune asked.

"Yes… I believe so."

"Then… How…?"

"So, it happened again…"

The JP of JNPR immediately turned to Qrow upon hearing his low comment.

"Happened again?"

"Yeah. I didn't think I'd see it again. Ever, really," Qrow mused. "Last time I saw it was during my childhood…"

"What are you talking about, Mr. Br- Qrow?" Pyrrha asked.

Qrow looked at the pair, then motioned for the broken doors. "I'll explain later, but if it's what I think it is, then you and your boyfriend have been struck by luck. Go on, keep doing your thing, champ. It might just save us."

Pyrrha nodded, reaching once again for the pull of her Semblance. A black aura covered the metal doors once again, and with the sound of screeching metal, the pair of doors were pulled out of the wall entirely. Narrowing her eyes, Pyrrha raised her hands and directed the doors as if she were an orchestra conductor, angling them horizontally close to the floor.

"Hurry, get on!" the redhead insisted.

Qrow and Jaune quickly stepped onto the makeshift they could leave, however, Jaune spoke up.

"Wait a moment! Qrow, when you were coming here, did you see anyone at the base of the tower?"

"Actually, yeah, there was some girl in a dress fighting Grimm down there."

"That's Weiss. Damnit, so she did stick around... We have to pick her up."

Working on maintaining their balance and position, the pair nodded at Pyrrha, who nodded back and flung her hands vaguely towards Vale, sending the group flying away from the tower.

* * *

"So, are you planning to explain, Qrow?"

The raven-haired man sighed as he heard the question from the blond approaching his position on a park bench.

Having made it down from the tower not too far from Weiss position (with the heiress' eyes constantly wide with stupefaction at the scene that had come to her), the group of six wasted no time in getting to the evacuation point and receiving medical help for the team. Pyrrha's pierced ankle was easily treated, and it wasn't long before her aura returned for real and helped her heal. Ruby's case was merely exhaustion, both physical and mental. Due to that, she had been given some blood infusions to help her recover, then sent home alongside her still-unconscious sister, Yang.

Cinder was another matter entirely.

The moment Qrow explained to James Ironwood who she was, the man was ready to call down a kill squad and eliminate her entirely. Jaune couldn't say he disagreed, but Qrow was heavily insistent on bringing her in alive. This led to an odd revelation for Jaune.

* * *

 _"… That's why we have to take her in, Jimmy. Besides the Maiden powers, who knows how many secrets she could know?" Qrow finished explaining._

 _Ironwood looked at Qrow with narrowed eyes, then turned to the comatose woman. Looking her over, the general noticed the slight bleeding on her head and asked, "What happened to her? She doesn't look to be in any condition to talk."_

 _"Let's just say someone close to home hit her where it really hurts," Qrow responded vaguely. "If you're talking about the head trauma, that's all this blondie's handiwork."_

 _James turned towards Jaune as Qrow motioned towards the blond in question. "You did this?"_

 _"Believe me, it wasn't my first choice, sir," Jaune responded. "I'd rather have killed her and be done with it."_

 _James nodded at the young man. "I can understand that. It was my first thought as well. Unfortunately, Qrow's right. This woman could be a treasure trove of information on the Queen. I commend you for simply disabling her."_

 _Having noticed the way Qrow never mentioned Ruby's attack on Cinder, Jaune merely nodded and said, "I can't say I did much, but I want to see her receive justice."_

 _"And she will." James turned back to the soldiers that had survived the attack on Beacon, snapping his fingers. Immediately, a pair of them approached. "Take her to the Atlasian Medical Tent, and make sure she receives just enough medical attention that she won't die on us. Afterwards, summon Professor Polendina and the Atlas Black Ops sector. Tell them this is a "Code A" situation. They'll understand."_

 _The soldiers nodded and picked up the comatose woman, carrying her away from the group._

 _"She will remain in Atlas' highest security prison until we can find a suitable person to transfer the Fall Maiden powers," James explained to the pair. "I do wonder how the machine fared… Mister Arc, are you alright?"_

 _Qrow turned towards Jaune at Ironwood's question, now realizing the blond was staring at the General with wide eyes._

 _Jaune quickly shook his head, responding with, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just remembering something…"_

 _James raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask any further questions._

* * *

"I'm guessing you mean about the changes to your Semblance and your girlfriend's?" Qrow asked.

"Yeah," Jaune responded, sitting next to the man on the bench and watching the evacuation proceedings alongside him. "You said you'd seen this before."

"I have. Not just seen it, but _lived_ it."

Jaune blinked. "What do you mean?"

Qrow sighed, pulling out his flask and taking a sip. "There's some crazy stories around Remnant, kid. One of them, which you heard not too long ago, is the one of the Four Maidens. I'm assuming you've heard it?"

"Yeah, my parents read it to me and my sisters many times," Jaune nodded. "It's one of Blanc's favorites…"

"Yeah, well, you can see now that it isn't so fantastical. It's pretty real."

"So, is Ruby a Maiden?"

"No, not at all. In fact, she's one of the few that can _counter_ a Maiden." Qrow turned to the blond with a raised eyebrow. "You might be dense as all hell when it comes to the opposite sex, kid, but tell me something. Is there anything _interesting_ that you've ever noticed about my niece?"

Jaune blinked. "I didn't take you for one to set up your niece with dates, old man."

Qrow groaned. "Not like that, kid."

Jaune smirked in response, then closed his eyes and thought about it. "Well, there's one thing. Her addiction to fighting. She's always been one to just want to battle whenever she can. For a fifteen year old, that's pretty odd, I'd say."

"Exactly. That's one thing. But what about something more physical?"

Jaune blinked, racking his brains in order to come up with an answer. "Nothing comes to mind… Maybe that she's as pale as a ghost?"

Qrow sighed, reaching over and punching the blond's arm. "No, you idiot. Though you're right, she really should get some more sun… I'm talking about her eyes."

"Her eyes?"

Qrow looked at the young man. "Tell me, kid. How many people have you seen with silver eyes?"

Jaune opened his mouth, intent on giving him a good answer… and stopped. "Uh… none, actually. I've seen gray, but not silver."

"That's because it's extremely rare. Ruby's… more special than she knows… just like her mother." Qrow sighed. "I'm guessing you know the story of the Silver-Eyed Warriors?"

Jaune's blank stare was more than enough of an answer.

"Huh… guess that legend's not as told anymore." Taking another sip from his flask, Qrow explained to Jaune the meaning behind the eyes of his niece and his old Beacon teammate.

"So… you mean to tell me Ruby's a powerful fighter… because of her _eyes_?"

"Trust me, kid, I had the same doubt, but it's true. It's told that those with Silver Eyes are destined to lead the life of a warrior. But that's not where the legend ends."

"Oh?"

"You see, most Silver Eyes are able to manifest their power in times of great stress. How this affected those nearby, however, was something that was difficult to explain. As you saw with Cinder, the power of the Silver-Eyes is potent against a Maiden. All the Maidens that we've studied have a crippling weakness towards Silver-Eyes. To most Grimm, it is practically instantaneous death. It seems that more powerful Grimm, like the Dragon, are frozen instead, but it is still a strong deterrent. However, to humans, Faunus, and animals, Silver-Eye powers are useless, as they don't really affect them. At least, not those with an active Aura."

Jaune's eyes widened as he realized where Qrow was going with this. "So that means… because Pyrrha and I were out of Aura when Ruby's Silver-Eyes manifested…"

"You were both changed. It was first thought that the Silver-Eyes powers could replenish Aura and return a person's fighting ability, but that was incorrect. What it does, if you have no Aura to protect you, is reach your very soul and not just merge your abilities with your body, but sometimes completely alter them."

"And you said you experienced this?"

"Yeah. My Semblance is a… very unfortunate thing. Quite literally, in fact. In most cultures today, crows are seen as a sign of bad luck. And, well… my Semblance followed to match."

Jaune's eyes widened.

"I bring misfortune…"

"So that's why you stay away from everyone…"

"Yeah. It's not a pretty thing. Yet, it wasn't always like that."

Jaune connected the dots pretty quickly. "You were out of Aura when the Silver-Eyes of Ruby's mom manifested, and it altered your Semblance…"

"Got it in one, kid. You're smarter than they give you credit for," Qrow chuckled. "Ever since that day, my Semblance has become a powerful gift and burden, one I can never turn off. When fighting, it gives me a strong edge against my opponents, but… it makes it difficult on friends and family."

Jaune remained silent upon hearing the man's explanation, processing everything he'd now learned. Looking down at his hands, the blond called out his Aura, noticing how the familiar white glow covered him. However, when he attempted to call out his Semblance as he had before, his Aura disappeared completely, and in its place, his hands were covered by crystal-like matrices that reflected their image and that of the ground.

"That's what I mean," Qrow said, having been watching his attempts. "I'm guessing that's new?"

"Yeah… it's odd."

"Maybe we can figure it out, then. What was your Semblance before, kid?"

"My _name_ is Jaune," the blond stressed. "And… I was able to pull myself out of time."

Qrow nearly spit out his drink at that. "Wait, what?! You could stop time?!"

"No, no," Jaune raised his hands in a placating manner. "Nothing that large… I think. I think Pyrrha said something about time being a stream of water and me pulling myself out of it to walk along the edge…"

"That's still essentially stopping time, kid," Qrow pointed out. "Though it might also be considered a form of teleportation… Dang, that's pretty strong."

"I guess… How could it have been affected by Ruby's Silver-Eyes, though?"

"Did you notice any changes after the attack?"

Jaune stopped, mentally weighing the pros and cons of telling the man what had happened. In the end, though, Qrow didn't seem like a bad person, just a very coarse one. He was honest and had gone through the very same events that Jaune had…

With that in mind, Jaune proceeded to explain to Qrow what had happened to him after the man had showed up at the tower to convince Jaune not to kill Cinder, including the flashes of what he now realized were future events, and the way he would not return to time until he chose a path.

"No way… This is ridiculous," Qrow muttered, chuckling lightly. "Kid, you can mess around with time _and_ you can see the future… you're going to be on the most wanted list of a lot of people if anyone finds out."

"That's why I won't tell anyone," Jaune stressed. "But… I could use some help."

"Yeah, no doubt," Qrow nodded. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."

"What about Pyrrha? She was affected by the blast too."

"I'm guessing the champ's Semblance was something along the lines of magnetism?"

"Polarity, she called it."

"Has she ever done something like carry six people on two broken doors the distance between Beacon Tower and the helipad?"

"… Not to my knowledge."

"Then unless red's been holding out on you, it seems her Semblance got supercharged."

Jaune blinked at the simple explanation, but nodded nonetheless. "I'm going to have to talk to her after she wakes up… So, what happens now?"

"Now… we find out what Cinder knows, as soon as she wakes up from the coma you put her in." Jaune pointedly ignored Qrow's minor glare. "Other than that, nothing is decided yet. Beacon's planning to send the kids back to their homes, if they've got any, so you should probably go to your family and let them know you're well."

Jaune nodded in response. "If you get any leads on who ordered this attack… would you let me know? If I can help with anything, I'll gladly do it."

Qrow looked at the young man with an appraising grin. "Well, with your abilities, I think I may just take you up on that offer, _Jaune_."

Jaune grinned in response.

* * *

"Hey, partner," the blond stated, entering Pyrrha's area in the medical tent. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, by a longshot," Pyrrha smiled, stretching this way and that as she sat up on the edge of her bed. "My aura took care of my ankle easily."

"Good to hear," Jaune grinned, sitting down on a chair in front of her. "And what about your new abilities?"

"Still getting used to them, I'm afraid." The redhead demonstrated this by holding out her hand, palm out. A black glow covered Jaune's chest plate, lifting him into the air and towards her. When he was close enough, Pyrrha moved forward and captured his lips with hers, drawing a smile out of Jaune as the young man regained his footing and placed his arms on her waist. When they separated, she continued, "I believe my abilities to be linked to my emotions, so I've had a few accidents here and there."

"Well, I'm happy to see they've made you a little bolder," Jaune chuckled, sitting next to her this time.

"No, that was all you, Jaune," Pyrrha responded, leaning her head on his shoulder. "What have you been up to?"

"Went to talk to Ironwood and Qrow about what was going to happen now," Jaune responded, wrapping his arm around her waist. "They're going to keep Cinder locked up in an Atlasian high security prison. Besides that, I got a bit of insight into the changes in our Semblances."

"What did you find out? And from who?"

"Qrow explained it to me. Apparently, Ruby's a lot more special than she realizes."

The explanation that followed from Jaune left the Pyrrha shocked, but in the end, if there was one silver lining she could find, it was that she wasn't experiencing this alone.

"Well, it seems you and I will have to put in some more training," Pyrrha murmured.

"You bet we will. Speaking of, will you be heading home?"

"Yes, I wish to see my family and let them know I'm okay," Pyrrha nodded. "Due to the fall of the CCT Tower here, my scroll signal hasn't gotten anywhere good enough to have a proper conversation."

Jaune nodded, standing up and pulling her with him. "Well then, let's go find our friends, shall we?"

Squeezing his hand lightly, Pyrrha smiled brilliantly. "We shall."


	23. The Hunter

**Scratch my last A/N, this is now the longest chapter I've done for this fanfiction, and for a good reason.**

 **I'll say this now, this chapter may get a bit confusing and, well, science-y. It came about more than a month ago, when I found a neat little page called "Required Secondary Powers" in TvTropes. It was... enlightening. But it's not going to have an end, exactly. It's more of a discussion than an actual story.**

 **Oh, and it's also based on the Ivara Warframe.**

* * *

"Is that your final decision, Mister Arc?" Professor Ozpin asked, looking at the young man sitting across from him.

"Yes, sir," Jaune responded, his gaze steady.

It was currently one in the morning, and Jaune Arc had just finished with his nightly training with his partner, Pyrrha Nikos. It had, unfortunately, gone as well as the last few times, meaning it went nowhere at all.

The blonde leader was frustrated beyond belief. He had noticed that he wasn't improving at all, both in his last few spars and training sessions with his partner. Nothing about him was changing, and he wasn't any closer to reaching the same level of power his friends had.

He also knew that Pyrrha had noticed as well, and the fact that she kept on encouraging him to improve in the same ways as she always did only served to frustrate him further, more for her sake than anything else. She was clearly trying to keep his spirits up, but he knew that she could see it as well.

He was being exactly what he never wanted to be, what he came to Beacon to change… someone that was dragging others down because of incompetence.

And now it seemed that such incompetence was to be his lot in life.

To that end, he had waited until his teammates were all asleep, then snuck out and came to see the headmaster of Beacon with a single proposition.

 _"I want to leave Beacon. I don't belong here, and I'm sure you know that, Professor Ozpin. I don't know what led you to allow me to come to Beacon with forged transcripts, much less put me in charge of a team, but whatever it was, it's wrong. I'm not improving. I'm not getting stronger, or smarter, or anything. I reached my limit, sad as it is to say… For that reason, I want to leave… before I end up responsible for the death of one of my loved ones."_

Here they were now, two men staring at each other, each lost in their own thoughts.

Then, to Jaune's surprise, Ozpin closed his eyes and chuckled.

"You are a brave young man, Mister Arc," the man spoke moments later. "Most students would be more than happy to just accept the fact that a forgery was looked over, but not you."

"And for good reason," Jaune responded. "This isn't about me anymore. Even if what you, Professor Goodwitch, and my teammates say about my tactical abilities are true, it doesn't mean jack if I end up getting captured or knocked out or incapacitated because I'm a weakling."

"I suppose you are correct," Ozpin sighed, though he smiled slightly moments later. "Which is why I must respectfully decline your request, Mister Arc."

"What?!" Jaune exclaimed, standing up immediately. "Why?! Do you _want_ me to cause another student's death?!"

"No, no, far from it," Ozpin laughed. "Instead, I will give you a proposition. Please, sit."

Jaune stared at the man shrewdly, but eventually nodded and sat back down.

"What proposition are we talking about here?" Jaune asked.

"Well, I must divulge to you that I have been looking over your training sessions with Miss Nikos," Ozpin admitted. "And I believe you are correct when you claim that you've hit a ceiling in your training. However, the problem does not lie with yourself, per se."

"Then with what? Can you tell me?" Jaune asked desperately.

"Yes, and no," Ozpin responded cryptically. "Mister Arc, correct me if I'm wrong, but you have never trained with the sword and shield until coming to Beacon, correct?"

"That's right," Jaune nodded, not at all ashamed to admit this after all he'd already said.

"I surmised as much. Your condition, Mister Arc, is quite simplistic in nature. You are not improving any further because you're just not mean to use such a weapon."

Jaune's eyes widened as he gaped at the headmaster. "What?! But that can't be! It's the only weapon I've ever trained with, and my family has used it for generations!"

"Yes, but you are not your family, Mister Arc. You are your own person, which means that you have your own needs and style. And unfortunately, it seems a sword and shield aren't it."

"So you mean to tell me I've been wasting Pyrrha's time this entire semester?!"

"Oh, no, not at all. While she was unable to realize that your styles are very different and that you are not suited for such a weapon, Miss Nikos has done an admirable job in bringing your strength, speed, and endurance up to par with other Huntsmen-in-training. The problem, once again, lies in your fighting style."

"So… how can I fix it?" Jaune asked. "You said you had a proposition for me…"

"Yes, I do, as this is nowhere close to the first time I have seen this case. We get such cases more often than you would believe, Mister Arc. One such example would one of your classmates, Miss Scarlatina."

"Velvet?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. For such cases, we have derived a certain program that allows a single, available Huntsman or Huntress for the needing student to shadow and be mentored by for close to a semester, so that together, they may be able to find a suitable style of battle for the person."

Jaune's eyes widened. "That's possible? But aren't Huntsmen usually really busy?"

"Not so much in recent times," Ozpin clarified. "In the past, they were needed constantly, but with the development of automatic artillery, Huntsmen and Huntresses can have more downtime if needed. Besides, Mister Arc, you are part of the youth that will become protectors like them. It makes perfect sense to have a specialized program if the traditional training does not suit your abilities."

Jaune looked down, his feelings mixed about all of this. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything, Mister Arc," Ozpin smiled. "I understand perfectly well the reason why you wanted to come to my school. It is the same reason that I once had, and the reason why I did my utmost to become a Headmaster. You wish to make a difference in the world, am I correct?"

Jaune nodded silently, his eyes slightly watery.

"But with how your family is, you never truly got the chance. However, if you can prove to me, your instructor, and most importantly, _yourself_ , that you wish to succeed and become stronger, then I will happily maintain your status here in my school."

Jaune's face changed then, his mouth curling into a soft smile as he looked up at the man with his watery eyes. "Thank you, Professor Ozpin."

Ozpin smiled back just as warmly. "Now, go back to your room and get some rest. I will call you when I have found a suitable mentor."

* * *

Two days later, Jaune received the message.

He was lucky that his teammates hadn't realized he had been gone for the night. It was tough, hiding his elation at the prospect of being privately helped for a short time, but he wanted to surprise them.

He wanted to show them someone whom they could be proud of, and of whom he could be proud of himself.

That's why, when the young man was called, he brought his whole team along.

Exiting the elevator, the rest of team JNPR was surprised to see another man standing next to the headmaster's desk. He was a tall man with a slightly tanned complexion and brown hair that was spiked upwards and to his left, with brown eyes to match the curtains. He wore silver armor that was lighter than what the team had seen on typical Atlasian soldiers, and had a rifle diagonally slung over his back.

"Ah, team JNPR, happy to see you made it in good time," Ozpin greeted them with a smile. "Please, do come in. Mister Arc, I have found a suitable willing Huntsman."

The rest of team JNPR turned to their leader, who was gazing at the Huntsman with a blank look.

"Everyone, meet Ívarr Silverback, a certified Huntsman and instructor from Xione village-."

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" Jaune suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. The Huntsman's head tilted in curiosity, while Jaune suddenly realized what he'd done and sheepishly rubbed his head. "Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright, Mister Arc. If I may, though, how do you know Ívarr?" Ozpin asked.

"Oh, no, I don't actually know him," Jaune clarified. "My family and I used to visit Xione often for camping trips, and I tended to sneak away and just watch the Huntsmen and Huntresses that passed by the town."

"Oh, so you are already familiar with the terrain, then," Ívarr spoke, his voice calm and carrying an inflection of amusement. "That's good. That'll already give you an advantage in my training."

"Training?" Pyrrha spoke up, drawing Jaune's attention.

Realizing he had yet to explain, Jaune turned to his team and nodded. "Yeah, training." Walking forward, he stopped in front of Pyrrha, making the girl blush slightly with his closeness, then asked, "Pyrrha, I want to ask you a question. If I do, would you do me the favor of answering with absolute, blunt honesty?"

Noticing the seriousness of his gaze, Pyrrha's blush receded as she hesitantly nodded.

"Thank you," Jaune smiled lightly. "What I want to ask is this: have I progressed at all in my training with you with the sword and shield in the past two weeks?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened at his question, her face becoming slightly pale. Unable to state into Jaune's serious orbs, she looked down and, after a moment, shook her head.

"If you know this, why haven't you told me?" Jaune asked.

"Because… Because I thought I could… help you," Pyrrha responded haltingly, minor sobs starting to come out at his accusatory question. "I thought I would be able to… to…"

"… to help me become stronger," Jaune finished for her. When she nodded, he placed a finger on her chin and raised it so that her eyes would lock with his. "You have, Pyrrha. You really have made me stronger. As cliché as it sounds, it's not you, it's me." They both chuckled at that. "It seems that the sword and shield just isn't the weapon I'm supposed to use."

"You _are_ rather stiff when using it…" Pyrrha mused.

"Ooh, _stiff_? What kind of training have you been giving him, Pyrrha?" Nora spoke up, approaching the two and waggling her eyebrows.

Jaune and Pyrrha turned bright red at that, but while Pyrrha looked down in embarrassment, Jaune laughed awkwardly.

"Not _that_ kind, Nora," the blonde said. He shook off the redness on his face and turned to the group as a whole. "Now, back to business. Because I'm apparently not suited for the sword and shield, Professor Ozpin decided to place me under a willing and available Huntsman so that I can train with him and see what fighting style suits me."

"For how long will this last?" Ren asked.

"A semester, give or take."

"You're going to be gone for that long?!" Nora asked. "But what about us, fearless leader?! What will we do without you?!"

The fact that Nora had prostrated herself next to him and was shedding crocodile tears was not lost on Jaune.

"Oh, calm down, woman," Jaune chuckled, pulling her up. "I'll be placing Pyrrha as temporary team leader in my absence, and trust me, I'll be back sooner than you think. I'm not leaving forever. I couldn't."

The team nodded, and with a few more goodbyes, the blonde was ready.

"Well? Shall we?" Ívarr asked, smirking at the young man.

"Yeah, let's go," Jaune answered confidently.

"Mister Arc," Ozpin spoke up. When the young man turned to him, the headmaster smiled. "Do your best. That is all."

"I will, professor."

* * *

Jaune's sudden disappearance had surprised many. As JNPR was the only team that knew when and why he left, they made sure to fill others in when they could, but speculations as to his disappearance still circulated.

Ruby was a little hurt that he had left without saying anything, but understood his intentions of becoming stronger and more specialized.

Weiss would've never admitted it, but she was more curious than anything else. She agreed with Pyrrha that Jaune was unusually stiff when using a sword and shield, something that she noticed during Goodwitch's sparring classes. Despite how annoying he was to her, she was interested in seeing what kind of specialization he would have.

Blake was more interested on how he would turn out emotionally. As she could personally attest, being exposed to the real world was a shocking experience. Just by looking at him, she could see that Jaune was at least a little sheltered, something that would be a hindrance to a Huntsman.

Yang was more focused on Ruby's reaction than Jaune's departure, but she was also excited at the prospect of the young man returning stronger than before. The exhilarating sense of a prospective battle was strong in her.

* * *

 **Several months later...**

* * *

"Everyone, please follow me outside," Goodwitch called out, walking towards the doors of the combat training room. "We will have a special class today."

Murmurs started up as the students stood and followed their teacher. This was their first class since coming back from the break between the second and third semesters, and most were still a little lethargic from the long rest.

Team RWBY walked alongside NPR, who were all checking over their scrolls.

"Hey, how come Vomit Boy isn't back yet?" Yang asked. "Didn't he say his training would last one semester?"

"Yes, he did," Pyrrha responded, her voice low as she looked at her scroll. "I wouldn't be able to tell you, honestly."

The annoyance in her tone wasn't lost on anyone, and in turn, surprised everyone.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I have not received a single message from our missing leader in weeks."

Those words stopped Team RWBY in their tracks.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Exactly that." Ren was the one to respond to the red reaper's question. "Jaune has not contacted any of us in the last few weeks, though Ívarr did once or twice to assure us he was alright. By the man's words, it seems Jaune hit a stride in his training and was extremely focused on it, hence the extended time away."

The girls accepted this explanation easily enough, but were naturally curious as to what that could mean.

After leaving the classroom buildings, Goodwitch led the class to the hills that overlooked the Emerald Forest, where everyone stood and waited for her command. However, she merely stood there, watching the forest quietly.

"Erm, Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby dared to ask.

"Just one moment, students. We're waiting on someone," Goodwitch responded, continuing to watch the forest.

It took a few minutes, but finally, two figures appeared from the forest path. The pair walked up the cliff's path to the top, where they were finally recognizable.

One was the headmaster of the academy, Ozpin. The second was a man not many recognized. Those who did, however, were shocked he was there.

"Glad you two could join us," Goodwitch spoke up, looking at the two disapprovingly.

"My apologies, Glynda," Ozpin chuckled. "I hope we're not _too_ late."

"Well, no. I was just about to ask for volunteers. It would have been nice to be a _little_ punctual, though," Goodwitch sniffed. Turning to the class, she said, "Very well, now that our guests have arrived, I would like to ask for a volunteer team to perform an exercise."

A few hands went up, and one in particular caught the headmaster's attention.

"Glynda, why not team CRDL?" Ozpin spoke up, motioning with his cup towards the team in question. "They seem eager to go."

Goodwitch looked back at Ozpin, a small frown on her face, but eventually, she nodded. "That sounds fine. Team CRDL, front and center."

The team walked up, their leader Cardin swaggering up confidently.

"What do you need us to do, Professor?" he asked.

"Simple. You are tasked with a hunting mission." Goodwitch turned, pointing her wand at the forest below. "Down in the Emerald Forest is someone. I will not tell you who, nor what he looks like. All I will say is that you will be hunting him. However, _he_ will also be hunting _you_. Your task is to bring him back to this spot. That is all."

"That's it? Easy as pie," Russel commented, walking up to one of the pads that would launch them into the forest.

"You said it," Sky concurred, following his lead.

"Is that all we need to do?" Cardin decided to ask, looking at the professor.

"Yes. You shall be monitored the entire time. As long as you can prove you are giving it your best, you shall be graded accordingly. Do _not_ take this lightly."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, Cardin and Dove took their places next to their teammates, and with a command from Goodwitch's scroll, the foursome were sent flying into the forest. While they were in the air, Goodwitch placed her scroll horizontally in front of her, screen up. After pressing a button on its screen, a holographic projection of a set of cameras appeared in the air for all to see, showing different viewpoints of the Emerald Forest.

While this was happening, however, another group of seven students approached the pair that had come from the forest.

"Ívarr!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she approached them.

The man turned to them, smiling as he noticed who was speaking.

"Ah, hello there," he greeted, waving at the group. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise," Ren responded. "But, as you can expect, we have more than a few questions."

"Yes, I don't doubt it," Ívarr responded, chuckling. He waved at the screen, saying, "Just watch. You'll understand."

"So… this is-."

"Yes, yes it is," Ívarr cut off Nora's question with a smile.

Team RWBY was understandably confused at the exchange, but after connecting the dots of the man's name with the name of the Huntsman that had taken Jaune with him, they decided to follow his lead and watch CRDL's test.

* * *

In the forest, after they had all landed safely, team CRDL reunited near the center of the forest. Once together, the team decided to simply walk in as far as they could, then start to search if that proved useless in finding their target.

"Man, this kind of sucks," Sky commented, hands behind his head as he walked to the left of the group, being the west point in their chosen diamond formation. "We don't even know what the heck we're looking for."

"Keep your eyes peeled anyway, Sky," Dove commented, standing in front of them with his right hand firmly around his short sword.

"Besides, we do know two things," Russel continued the conversation from Sky's right. "For one, we're hunting a guy, since Goodwitch kept mentioning a 'he'. And for two, we're also being hunted, so we have to make sure we aren't caught unawares."

Standing behind them all, Cardin smiled at the conversation, the breeze that passed through the trees ruffling his hair. He wouldn't say it aloud to anyone but them, but he was proud of the way his team had come since the beginning of the school year. Ever since being protected by Jaune in Forever Falls the previous semester, he realized that no matter how much posturing he did, if he wasn't actually strong enough to back up his talk, it was pointless. He also realized that kind of thinking applied to his team.

As such, he had upped the team's training regimen, using the training rooms available to bring them all to maximum fighting ability. Not just physically, but psychologically as well.

Due to his distracted thinking, however, he almost missed the sound of footsteps behind him.

Turning quickly, he pulled his mace from his belt and prepared to block any attack that came his way, but was surprised to note there was no one there.

"Cardin? What's up?" Russel spoke up, having noticed their leader's sudden movement and drawn his own weapons.

"I heard something behind me. Stay sharp, whoever's after us could be around," Cardin instructed, making Dove and Sky also bring out their weapons. "Russel, if you would?"

Russel nodded, closing his eyes. His aura flared momentarily as the winds around them picked up slightly. However, after a moment, his eyes opened once again.

"I don't sense anything," he said, shaking his head. "If there was someone behind you, either they completely disappeared or they weren't there."

Cardin kept his eyes peeled, trusting his teammate's Air Sensing, but also trusting his gut. He was sure he'd seen something.

Then he noticed it.

There, difficult to see in between the sunlight that was streaming from the treetops and the shadows of said trees…

… were a pair of floating eyes.

"What the f-?!"

That was as far as he got before a light-red object materialized out of the air, flying straight towards him and detonating as soon as it struck him, the blast sending him flying back and into the forest.

* * *

"What the heck was that?!" Yang asked, eyes wide as she watched the screen.

Likewise, everyone else around them was stunned, both at the sudden appearance of the arrow that had struck Cardin as well as the explosion the impact had resulted in.

However, one of the group of students, being a connoisseur on weapons and their ammunition, was able to note one thing in the small time that the arrow had been present.

"That wasn't a regular arrow," Ruby Rose muttered.

"Well, naturally," Weiss responded.

"No, I don't mean the explosion," Ruby said, now drawing everyone else's attention. "What I mean is that _that_ can't have been a regular arrow."

"What do you mean, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked.

Looking at the group seriously, Ruby said only one statement.

"That arrow had no shadow."

* * *

"Cardin!" Sky exclaimed, looking towards where Cardin had flown.

"He'll survive!" Russel said, keeping his eyes on the direction where the arrow had come from. "Watch out, this guy can apparently turn invisible!"

"Yeah no shit!" Sky responded. "Anything else you'd like to tell us, Captain Obvious?!"

"Yeah, I can't sense him!" Russel responded.

That stopped Sky short. In the time they had been teammates, the silver-haired young man knew that hardly anything escaped Russel's semblance, the ability to essentially have an in-built radar by sensing changes in air currents around them, although this required him to flare and infuse some of his aura into the air itself. The fact that someone was able to fool that sense…

"That's impossible," Dove stated. "To be able to do that, they'd have to be completely intangible to the air around us. They wouldn't be able to breathe."

"You're pretty smart, aren't you?"

The sudden voice made Dove jump, but before he could turn around, something wrapped itself around his throat, dragging him into the foliage.

"Dove!" Sky exclaimed, rushing after his teammate.

"Sky, wait!" Russel exclaimed, but it was to no avail.

The halberd-wielding student rushed through the trees, looking around in order to find his teammate. He spotted the sandy haired young man a few feet away from where they'd been, laying on the floor unconscious.

"There you are," Sky sighed, rushing over and kneeling by the comatose boy. Looking him over, he could see no particular injuries on Dove, and in fact, as he checked the boy's pulse and breathing, he could wager a guess that Dove was sleeping.

"What the heck…?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when he heard a ruffle of leaves next to him. Immediately picking up his halberd, he turned over to where he'd heard the noise, but to his relief, Cardin was the one to step through the leaves, rubbing his head.

"Cardin! You alright, man?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll live," Cardin groused. "What the hell hit me?"

"Dunno. Didn't get a good look at it," Sky shrugged.

"Well, keep your eyes- what happened to Dove?" Cardin's warning was derailed as he finally noticed his teammate's unconscious body.

"Whoever is after us grabbed him and knocked him out. No idea how, but this guy can fool Russel's Air Sense like it's nothing."

Cardin nodded in agreement, turning to look around. "Russel, get over here!"

It took a moment, but the mohawked young man soon approached them, twirling his knives carefully.

"What are we looking for, Cardin?" Russel asked as Sky finally managed to bring Dove around.

"I don't know, but I know he can't stay invisible completely," Cardin said, hefting his mace on his shoulder. "I saw a pair of eyes before that thing hit me, so I suppose he needs to keep his eyes visible to see."

The others nodded, turning to look out into the forest. They could hear nothing but the sound of the breeze for a moment, then finally, the nearly-silent sound of a _twang_ rang out.

An arrow materialized just in front of Russel, who was aware enough to dodge it, though just barely. Looking back to make sure that the arrow wouldn't hit anyone else, he was shocked when he witnessed the arrow, which he absentmindedly noted was glowing a pale yellow color, suddenly spun in the air and headed for Cardin.

"Watch out!"

Cardin immediately turned, steeling himself and holding his mace across his body to block the explosion he now expected.

However, to everyone's surprise, the moment the arrow made contact with Cardin's mace, it dissipated, the flowing remains of it latching onto Cardin's aura. In the blink of an eye, it traveled up his arm and spread throughout his body, covering his head the most. Cardin's eyes suddenly began to droop, and no more than a moment later, he collapsed on the ground, the invasive, pale-yellow aura pulsing slowly.

* * *

Back at the cliffs, the spectators were once again open-mouthed at the effect they had seen the arrow have. Now that they knew what they were looking for, the group around Ruby had to agree that the arrow that was used was much different that a normal one.

"You know…" Nora, surprisingly, spoke up, drawing her teammates and friends' attention. "Looking at the way the arrow disappeared, it's almost like… it was made of aura."

* * *

The remaining trio of team CRDL looked at their unconscious leader with wide eyed, frozen by the suddenly different effect.

A number of footsteps from behind them made the group return to alertness.

Growling, Dove turned and aimed the pistol of his short sword at the area, firing a trio of bullets. These missed their mark, but the movement their assailant was forced to make finally brought him to light.

To their surprise, the person seemed no bigger than them. He was wearing a black, hooded jacket over a plain white shirt that was tucked into black jeans, with worn leather gloves and boots that reached up to his mid-calf, both items also being colored darkly. He had a belt with several different canisters attached around his torso, and on his left bicep was a decorated pauldron colored silver with some golden accents.

The hood of the jacket was raised, and the person was wearing a face mask that covered up to his nose, not allowing them to see much of the guy's face

Then, the person looked up, and his blue eyes startled them all.

He suddenly ran forward, aiming for Russel, but Sky intercepted him, swinging his halberd horizontally into the guy's path. The person dropped to his butt, sliding just under the attack and continuing his run. Dove ran forward to intercept him, but he was a tad too late.

Russel grit his teeth as the person appeared just in front of him and swung one of his Dust knives, but the person jumped over the attack and twisted in midair, thrusting out his right foot and kicking Russel away. The mohawked young man was barely able to get his bearings before he was forced to dodge an arrow headed for his torso, which just like the last one, twisted in midair and headed for him anyways. Russell forced himself to wait for the last moment, then dodged to the side and attempted to slice the arrow in half. To his surprise, his knife didn't so much cut the arrow as it did bounce off it and send it to the ground, but it achieved its purpose anyways.

The man was forced to turn as Sky came charging in again, jumping above the Lark's attack and then using his head as a springboard to jump away. Dove's eyes followed the man, who landed on a tree branch. The person immediately pulled back on a bow's string, which made Dove blink in surprise, as he hadn't seen just when the bow had appeared in the man's hand. This moment of hesitation was enough for the man to let loose a volley of five arrows, fired in a horizontal line and aimed at Sky, who attempted to get out of the way. Unfortunately, the size of his halberd in comparison to him made him just a tad too slow, and two of the arrows impacted his body, sending him flying back into a tree. The moment Sky fell to the ground, the man suddenly materialized above him, dropping quickly and slamming one knee against his back. Sky let out a choked cry, then went limp as the man elbowed the back of his head, sending his face right into the ground.

Russel and Dove stared at the man, shocked at the ruthlessness he used. The man looked up, his narrowed eyes looking upon the two, then raised his hand up to chest level, where it glowed momentarily.

With the sound of rushing wind, the person disappeared from their sight.

"Damnit, this forest is perfect for this guy," Russel growled out, taking a back-to-back stance with Dove.

"What do we do, Russel?" the sandy-haired young man asked.

"Just keep an eye out," Russel said, closing his eyes and once again pulsing the air with his aura.

This time, the person they were fighting actually appeared in his sense, showing up as a vaguely directional feeling... just above them.

"Move!" Russel yelled, pushing Dove away just as a line of arrows impaled themselves into the ground where they had just been and dissipated.

Now on opposite sides of the clearing, Russel and Dove turned towards each other, looking around desperately in their attempts to catch a sight of the man. Russel closed his eyes, attempting to once again sense the man's location, but this time, his senses picked up nothing.

A yelp caused him to open his eyes. The moment he did, he was greeted with the sight of Dove flying in his direction, unmoving. Being careful with the placement of his knives, Russel caught him, propping him up against a tree instantly. The mohawked young man was dismayed to see the same aural effects around Dove that were also around Cardin, who was starting to come around.

"Wait, Cardin?" Russel said, re-processing that sight.

"Ugh, my head... What happened...?" Cardin spoke in slurred tones, placing a hand against the ground and attempting to push himself up while cradling his head with the other.

Russel would have responded, but at that moment, his instincts screamed at him. He crossed his knives in front of him, just in time for a pair of short swords to clash with his own, startling him as their owner faded into view.

Russel's brown eyes met with the man's narrowed blue ones, re-igniting the knife-wielder's anger. He pulled back and attempted to stab at the man, but his attack was deflected by a quick parry. His follow up overheard slash was evaded as the man rolled to the right, and when Russel turned, he was forced into a dance as the man moved in to attack.

However, one thing he realized, as he parried one the man's blows and retaliated with a double slash, was that he was slowly but surely gaining ground.

"Hah, you're not all that good with these, are you?" Russel taunted, dodging an overhead slash and jumping forward with a right jab at the man's left arm.

His eyes widened as his knife never encountered the barrier every Huntsman should have, and instead, dug right into the man's bicep, splashing his face with a hot, red liquid he'd hardly ever seen in his life. His knife's blade made a sickening sound as the man pulled his arm back.

Looking down, Russel's hands shook as he looked at his blade. It was coated in blood, which was slowly dripping to the forest floor.

"W... W-what the hell...?"

That was all he could say.

This wasn't just a capture mission any longer.

This now had an air of lethality he wasn't at all used to.

The sound of rushing air caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to witness the handle of the man's short swords fly at him.

From the side, Cardin watched in stupefaction as his partner froze up and was promptly knocked unconscious. He wouldn't lie, he had also been shocked at the fact that Russel's attack had such an effect. Now more prepared, however, he pulled up his mace as the man turned to him, seemingly not all that concerned about his bleeding arm.

"What the hell are you...?" Cardin asked.

The man turned to him, his eyes boring into Cardin's own. CRDL's leader, now being able to see his opponent clearly, noticed the man's white aura cover the area that had been impaled, quickly patching it up and then dissipating. That left him perplexed. If the man had aura, how had Russel's attack gone through and actually hurt him?

He was unable to ponder this further, as the man disappeared from his sight the next moment.

"Hey!" Cardin exclaimed, rushing forward, but when he swung his mace, it hit nothing but air. "Come out and face me, coward!"

He looked around, but there was no sight of the man. His gaze lowered to the area just around him, where he was dismayed to see the unconscious forms of his teammates, a sight that drained some of his courage. Turning around, he tried his best to look for the man, but saw nothing noteworthy.

Suddenly, a noise came from behind him, making him jump and turn quickly. He saw nothing in particular, but he could still hear the sound, which made him think of a woodpecker. He stalked forward slowly, following the sound, but when he reached the spot, all he saw was a single, white arrow, stuck to a tree. If his eyes didn't deceive him, it was also vibrating slightly.

"What the...?"

The sound of a bow's string being pulled taut behind him made him freeze. Turning his head slightly, his left eye came to the sight of the pointy end of an arrow just a few centimeters away from it.

Then, finally, the man spoke.

"Give up, Cardin."

The voice made Cardin pause in shock. Slowly, he looked over the person's frame, then focused once again on his bright blue eyes, and finally asked one question.

"... Arc?!"

* * *

The shock of the spectators had yet to subside as the Bullhead carrying the two team leaders and the three unconscious members of team CRDL arrived at the cliff, allowing the two conscious ones to disembark and Goodwitch to levitate the other three out.

Cardin, and now every other student there, were still staring in shock at the leader of team JNPR, who had finally taken off his face mask and hood. His face still held some of his boyish looks, but his eyes were now harder and seemed to be almost constantly narrowed, and his posture was more confident, constantly staying nimble in case of any eventuality.

The hardness in his eyes was lost, however, as the young man beheld someone running at him at top speed.

"JAUNEY!" Nora Valkyrie exclaimed happily, rushing towards and jumping at the blonde, who smiled and held his arms out, catching her and twisting her around.

"Hey, Nora!" Jaune returned, his voice a little rougher than before and with a more gravelly undertone. "It's good to see you again."

"Where have you been, fearless leader?!" Nora pouted, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Oh, you know. Here, there, somewhere over yonder..." Jaune responded playfully.

As Nora giggled at his response, the rest of his team and team RWBY finally caught up.

"Jaune! It really is you!" Pyrrha exclaimed, running towards him but stopping just shy of touching him, her arms at her sides and her pose unsure.

Jaune and Nora looked at each other, leading Jaune to sigh and shake his head. Letting Nora go, the Arc stepped forward and unabashedly wrapped his arms around Pyrrha's torso, pulling her in for a hug.

"J-Jaune?!" Pyrrha exclaimed, her face reddening.

"It's good to see you too, Pyrrha," Jaune responded good-naturedly, tightening his hug around the girl's torso.

Eventually, Pyrrha was able to respond and returned the hug, relishing the fact that she was finally able to wrap her arms around her crush once again.

"I missed you," she admitted in a low voice.

"I missed you too, Pyrrha," Jaune responded, in an equally low voice.

Separating a moment later, the pair smiled at each other before Jaune broke the hug and turned to the last person of his team.

"Ren."

"Jaune."

The two young men looked at each other, faces stoic. Then, simultaneously, the moment was broken and the pair smiled at each other, hugging it out just like the previous two.

"My brother from another mother," Jaune chuckled.

Ren just laughed in response, startling many of the people there.

Team RWBY also came up to the young man, intending to talk to him, but before they could, a voice broke through the air.

"Well then, that was mighty entertaining."

Jaune smirked and turned to the source. "Of course it was, Ívarr. Of course it was… So, do I pass?"

Ívarr smirked in response and turned to the headmaster. "Well, you heard him, Ozpin. Does he pass?"

Ozpin looked unusually serious, staring at Jaune as if studying him. "To be honest, Mister Arc, I'm entirely surprised you were able to beat Team CRDL. You have improved tremendously in the time you were away. This, perhaps, is the reason you extended your time away at the last minute?"

Noticing the slight accusatory tone in the question, Jaune sheepishly smiled and shrugged. "Hey, I couldn't stop halfway, and I knew that as soon as I came back here, I'd be put to the test and probably wouldn't be able to completely pan out my idea and abilities. What else would you have me do?"

"Nothing else, Mister Arc," Ozpin responded with a smile. "That is what I hoped to hear."

"Besides, you say that as though it wasn't the element of surprise that allowed me to even have a chance," Jaune continued. "In a straight fight, I'm sure I'd have been toast."

Ívarr's sigh came before anyone could answer. "Yeah, _there's_ one thing that I never got around to knocking out of him… the boy still has self-esteem as low as an underground cavern."

"Well, _sorry_ I can't be a paragon of confidence, _sensei_ ," Jaune responded in a snarky manner.

Ívarr's eye twitched. "And yet, he's still confident enough to be a little brat…"

"I'm pretty sure they call my state 'apathetic', but I really wouldn't know," Jaune shrugged.

"If I may, Mister Arc," Ozpin broke in before the two could continue to banter, "Why don't we step into my office? I would really like another perspective on your training."

"Sure. Guys?" Jaune asked, looking at his team.

In response, Nora cheered and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. "No way are we going to miss this! Lead on, Jauney!"

Chuckling as he forcibly lessened her hold on his throat, the young man nodded at his two remaining teammates before looking over at team RWBY, who were still staring at him. "You guys want to come along too?"

"Really?!" Ruby exclaimed, immediately zipping up to stand in front of him with shining eyes.

"Are you sure, Mister Arc?" Ozpin asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I trust them, Professor, so of course I'm sure," Jaune responded, drawing an even bigger smile from Ruby.

* * *

Once they were all gathered at Ozpin's office, with Jaune standing in the middle of the office and everyone else sitting in various places around him, Jaune began his explanation.

"I'm just going to put it this way: for the first few weeks, I had no clue what kind of weapon I should use, since I sucked with pretty much all of them. I tried all kinds of weapons: swords, staves, hammers, knives, polearms; you name it, I tried it. Eventually, I came to realize that dual short swords were the best melee weapons for me to use, but even then, I still couldn't wield them properly, and couldn't beat or even match another Huntsman-in-training with them. I _did_ get Crocea Mors split into two, though."

"Ooh, can I see?!" Ruby exclaimed.

Smiling, Jaune reached back and pulled up his hoodie's bottom flap, showing that Crocea Mors' sheath was held horizontally on his tailbone, parallel to his belt, and was now smaller than it used to be. He unclipped it from its position and tossed it to Ruby, who caught it and immediately drew the swords. Placing the sheath-shield down, she took one sword in each hand and marveled at their smaller, yet no less deadlier, visage.

"Whoa…"

"I had to ask to make the sheath a little bigger in order to hold both swords, but I opted to keep the shield. It still has its uses." Turning back to Ozpin, the blonde continued his story. "Anyway, once I figured that, I asked Ívarr to help me learn how to use long distance weaponry. And… well, I practically ran into the same problem. I tried to start with weapons I'd seen firsthand, so… I tried a rifle similar to Pyrrha's, but the recoil would always screw me up. Same with dual pistols or SMG, or even single ones, really. Don't even get me started on grenade launchers, shotguns, or sniper rifles. To be honest, that just made me depressed." The facial expressions of those around him changed to confusion and slight pity as he looked down. "I came to realize that I was weak. There was really no way around it. I was a weakling compared to everyone else, and I couldn't find a weapon that _I_ could use." Jaune's sudden smile caught the others off guard. "And that's when I realized it. I was trying to be strong by increasing my overall force, if you will, but that isn't the only kind of strength. When you're powerful, like Yang, you have strength. When you're weak… well, you have to get _technical_. That's how I came to realize that I already had a weapon at my disposal, a weapon that I had yet to try and which had been a gift, more or less, from my partner. My aura."

"You weaponized your aura?" Ozpin asked, while the others (except for Ívarr) looked at him in shock.

"Yep," Jaune nodded. "At least, that's the gist of it. I came to understand that aura is something that each of us are born with, and which can be brought to the surface to aid us in battle." Suddenly, he turned to his partner. "Hey, Pyrrha do you remember, back when you unlocked my aura, what I shouted out after you explained it to me?"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, racking her brains in order to understand what Jaune meant, but when she remembered, she chuckled. "Yes. If I remember correctly, you said, _'It's like a force field!'_ "

The others laughed at Pyrrha's imitation of Jaune's scratchy voice, Jaune included. When the laughter subsides, Jaune nodded at her. "Yep. When you explained it to me, I couldn't help but think of it like that. But… now I know both of us are very wrong."

Pyrrha's eyes, and everyone else's, widened in surprise, while Ívarr smirked in pride.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"What I mean is that aura isn't merely a force field. When I realized that aura was something our bodies used instinctively to protect us from harm, I gave it a lot of thought and tried to understand just where that energy came from and why it acted the way it did." The blonde turned to Ozpin, who was looking at him critically. "Professor Ozpin, can you tell us what the most basic instinct of any creature is?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Survival?"

"Exactly," Jaune nodded. " _That_ is why the first and major way aura is used is for defense and healing, or at least, that was my train of thought. Aura isn't a force field, or just a protector; it's an energy pool. Its _main use_ is protection, which is an instinctive action made by everyone that first unlocks it."

"So, let me get this straight," Blake suddenly spoke up. "In order to weaponize your aura, you 'turned off' your survival instinct?"

"Essentially, yeah," Jaune responded. "It actually wasn't all that hard."

"How so?" Ren asked.

"Well, this isn't going to sound pretty, but by the time I thought of that, I had already had a lot of thoughts in my head about how little I was worth, so…"

Pyrrha's eyes widened as she connected the dots. "You thought your life was worth so little that your survival was meaningless?!"

Jaune looked away and nodded.

"Jaune!"

"What?! What do you want from me?" Jaune responded defensively. "Ívarr said it himself; I don't have the highest self-esteem."

The man in question snorted derisively. "That's an understatement if I ever heard one."

Everyone kept staring at Jaune in shock as the blonde continued his story. "Ever since I was a child, I always considered myself worthless because my parents refused to train me as they did themselves and some of my sisters. I know that's not what they meant by it, and I don't hold it against them, but that, plus the lack of faith they had in me coming to Beacon, made it so that I hardly believed in myself as well. You all saw it, what with the whole Cardin situation. The fact that I now felt that I was useless in fighting was just another weight on my conscience." He continued before anyone could say anything else. "Thankfully, my idea of weaponized aura gave me the determination I needed, so I decided to plunge myself into that with all the strength I had. I started reading up on all of the books about aura that I could get my hands on, as well as trying my best to call it up whenever I wanted. It took some time and a lot of meditation, but eventually, I was able to summon it to the surface of my body, though I wasn't able to really do anything with it. I had to get Ívarr's help in that regard. I asked him to attack me, then tried to willfully get my aura to _not_ protect my body. It took a _lot_ of effort, I won't lie. But after I got it to stay within my body, I worked on calling it out at my whim. And, well…"

Jaune raised his hand, palm up. Within it, a small trail of light rose from the palm of his hand before coalescing into a ball, which grew and expanded within it, glowing brightly.

"… I'd say I got it down."

Everyone was speechless for a moment before a chuckle from the headmaster broke the silent air.

"Well done, Mister Arc. I must say, I am impressed. However, I am still curious about the weapons you wielded in the forest, not to mention the abilities you exhibited."

"Ah, well, that came after I managed to get control over my aura," Jaune continued. "I began to get a feel for what it could really do, testing it against different objects and substances. As I'm sure you're aware of, Professor, while aura protects us from any damage that may break the skin, concussive damage still bleeds through. That wasn't the only thing that did, though. I startled to look more into anything aura _doesn't_ stop, and came up with a few theories. For example, radiation."

"Radiation?" Ruby spoke up. "What do you mean by that?"

Weiss, however, was already following his train of thought. "You mean light, don't you?"

"Exactly," Jaune concurred, smiling and pointing at her. "When I started to look up the different substances that had to be able to pass through aura, light and oxygen were two of the very first things in my mind, because otherwise, no one would be able to see, hear, or breathe if aura blocked these. I also came to realize that aura blocked against damage that was at least as fast as the owner could process it, so anything like sunburns, or attacks that came too fast for the person to instinctively follow, wouldn't be _prevented_ by aura, but _healed_ instead, because it would be either too slow or too fast for the mind to see it as dangerous until after the fact."

Everyone stared at Jaune in stupefaction as he continued to explain.

"So I started to experiment with my aura. Since the mind was the one responsible for calling it up to protect the user, I figured I should be able to _adjust_ it to what I needed it to do. This also took me a long time, but I was running on a bunch of determination by that point and I wasn't about to give up. My first breakthrough was when I was practicing with my aura right under the sun." Calling up a ball of aura again, he held it just in front of him for all to see. "I tried to make the ball completely impervious to light, figuring that it would be a start in creating a perfect defense. What I _thought_ I managed instead…" The ball of light suddenly disappeared from everyone's eyes. "… was making my aura _absorb_ the radiation rather than block it. _That_ little discovery gave me a bunch of ideas, and I decided to run right with them, which is why I inadvertently extended my time away. I wanted to perfect this as much as I could."

At this point, Jaune began to pace the room, the others following his every move and word.

"Who here knows the rule that energy must follow no matter what?" he asked the room at large.

"That energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it _can_ be converted," Nora immediately spoke up, surprising team RWBY, though not her own team, as they already knew her semblance and knew that she had taken to studying electricity in order to understand it and get stronger.

"Exactly. So when my aura managed to absorb that energy, I was confused. I figured that energy had to go _somewhere_ , so I kept trying it out. It's how I came to further realize the capabilities of aura. Like I mentioned earlier, aura can stop anything harmful before it can breaks the skin, but it can't stop the natural, physical force that everything carries. In other words, it isn't completely impervious to physics. I felt around the aura sphere to figure out what had happened to the light my ball had absorbed, but it turns out it didn't exactly absorb it. Instead, what it did was _redirect_ it. Due to how I perceived everything around me ever since starting to delve into aura, my aura would now repel everything I consciously thought of, which at that point included radiation. And _that_ is how my Semblance came to be."

"Wait, isn't your Semblance that aura manipulation you do?" Yang asked.

Jaune shook his head. "No, the aura manipulation I do is something separate. From what I understand, Semblances are a power that develops in those with unlocked auras and is based on the traits, personality, and mannerisms of the person. Think of it this way: if aura is a lake, then a Semblance is like a hose that is placed into the lake. Every time you use your Semblance, you pull water from the lake through the hose to achieve... whatever your Semblance might do. The lake and hose sizes differ per person, but it typically works that way. In _my_ case, however, when I manipulate aura itself, I essentially go straight to the lake to pull water from it in whichever way I wish. Despite that, though, my Semblance still developed."

"What would be your Semblance then, Mister Arc?" Ozpin asked.

In response, Jaune pulled up his aura and held both hands in front of himself, palms splayed outwards and towards the two men behind the headmaster's desk. "Ívarr, if you would?"

Ívarr nodded and stepped around the desk, standing just in front of it. The man suddenly pulled his rifle from behind him and aimed it at Jaune, pulling the trigger before anyone in the office could react.

The students and headmaster immediately turned towards Jaune in worry, but that worry became surprise when they realized they couldn't see him anymore. Instead, Ívarr's bullets appeared to bounce off of an invisible wall, ricocheting off into random directions. When Ívarr's bullets ran out, there was silence for a moment before Jaune's form faded back into view, though the blonde seemed to be having trouble breathing. When he relaxed and presumably released his Semblance, Jaune took a deep breath and shook his head.

"That's my Semblance. It's an upgraded version of the defense that's already naturally given to us by aura, only it redirects _everything_ that comes my way. Due to my aura manipulation, that also includes oxygen, radiation, and a host of other things I've yet to discover. It's essentially a Perfect Defense."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here..."

Jaune nodded at Ren's observation. "There is. Since no oxygen or radiation can pass through it, that means that when I cover myself in my aura fully, I can't see, hear, or breathe. I have to rely completely on instinct to know when to stop, and since my air supply is limited, I can't use it for too long. However, there's a catch to that, too."

Everyone watched carefully as Jaune once again brought up his aura, disappearing from their sight. A moment later, though, he slowly faded back into view, even though they could still see the glow of his aura. Then, the young man suddenly took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "If I focus properly, I can will my aura into allowing certain things to bleed through. This takes a lot of concentration from me, though."

Ozpin nodded. "Once again, Mister Arc, I am suitably impressed. You have put a lot of thought and consideration into this."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Ruby suddenly began to bounce in place, raising her hand as if she were in class. "What about that bow and those arrows you used against CRDL, Jaune?"

"Oh, that accounts for the last part of my training with Ívarr." Jaune proceeded to raise his left hand to chest-level, clenching it into a fists. With a sound akin to the wind, his bright-white bow materialized, the thin string appearing moments later. "Once I got used to calling out my aura for defense, I started thinking of a more literal way of weaponizing my aura. To that end, I started trying to create weapons out of it. Unfortunately, I'm no Ruby, so creating guns from it was next to impossible." Ruby stuck her tongue out at him at his jest, drawing laughter from the others. "So I decided to once again stick to the classics, and what long-range weapon is more classic than the good ol' bow and arrow? _This_ one was much easier to recreate, and once I got creating it down to instinct, Ívarr here gave me a challenge for me to learn how to properly use it."

Jaune motioned for Ívarr to continue, putting him under the spotlight. The Huntsman, for his part, just sighed and answered. "I told him that he would have to start hunting for his own food now. If he didn't succeed, he didn't eat."

"You did _what_?!"

The exclamation was let out not just by Pyrrha, but also Ruby and Yang, all three of whom were glaring daggers at Ívarr.

"Hey, hey, don't kill him now," Jaune hurried to say. "I didn't really think much about it at first, but I came to appreciate it later on."

"How so?" Ren asked.

In response, Jaune asked Ozpin, "Did you ever tell team RWBY?"

Ozpin shook his head. "Not at all. As you may have noticed earlier, I wasn't sure if you trusted them enough to reveal it."

The team in question was understandably confused at the exchange. "Jaune," Ruby decided to ask, "What are you talking about?"

Jaune looked at them, his gaze unreadable. Finally, he asked one question.

"Girls, I want you to be honest with me. Back when I first started at Beacon, what did you all think about my fighting ability?"

The team paused to process that question, and Ruby was the first to answer.

"Well, while you were really nice to me, I didn't think you'd be all that good in a fight."

"Likewise," Weiss concurred. "Horrid flirting attempts aside, your fighting left a lot to be desired."

Blake simply said, "You certainly didn't seem up to par."

"You sucked."

Yang's crude response made the blond laugh, and after controlling it, he nodded. "You're all right, I was a horrible fighter back then, and for a good reason."

RWBY remained silent as they watched Jaune take a deep breath.

"The truth is... I didn't have an ounce of training before coming to Beacon. My aura wasn't unlocked, and I didn't even know what it was, nor anything about Grimm or fighting. I applied to come here... with fake transcripts."

Silence reigned in the office for a while, with JNPR, Ozpin, and Ívarr watching team RWBY carefully.

"Why?" Blake, being the most logical of the team, decided to break the silence first and ask what was in their minds. "That's both to you and to Professor Ozpin. Why apply for Beacon with falsified transcripts, and why accept you?"

"I have my reasons." The way Ozpin worded that, however, made it clear he wasn't planning to share them, so everyone turned to Jaune, who sighed.

"I... To put it frankly, I wanted to be a hero. I believed I absolutely _had_ to be one, but it wasn't because of my ego or arrogance. It was... because of my family. My family has a history of having heroes, and I felt like I was letting everyone down by being so weak. Because of that, I foolishly believed that if I could just come to Beacon, if I could become sometime worthy of note on my own, then I could... I could stand proudly alongside my family."

"That's... absolutely crazy," Yang said. "Didn't you think about the danger you would've been in?"

"Well, no. Otherwise, I'd never have done it. But I decided to reveal that not just because I trust you guys, but also because it would explain why I said that Ívarr's training exercise was a good thing." Noticing he had their attention fully, Jaune explained himself. "When I arrived at Beacon, I was naive and much weaker than anyone else here. The latter was mostly fixed thanks to my partner, who I have to say had the greatest amount of patience I'd ever received." The young man sent a smile towards Pyrrha. "Seriously, Pyrrha, I don't think I could ever thank you enough for training me and being there for me the way you've been since we met."

To a chorus of 'aww's from Ruby, Yang, and Nora, Pyrrha smiled back at him brightly. "It was my pleasure, and I have to equally thank you for treating me like just another friend even after learning my status."

"Just another friend, huh?" Jaune asked with an impish smile, making Pyrrha's face redden. "Regardless, thanks to the month and a half of training Pyrrha put me through, my strength, speed, and endurance came up to acceptable Huntsman-in-training standards. And if you remember how I was back then compared to now, I had to do _a lot_ of training for that. It's why I came to understand and appreciate Ívarr's training method. I progress best when under stressful or dangerous situations, and having to quickly adapt to using a bow in order to just survive helped me learn to use it with enough time to return to Beacon."

Everyone nodded in understanding at his explanation.

"Oh, one more thing, then," Weiss spoke up. "What about those effects your aura had on CRDL? Your explanation of your aura's perfect defense capabilities are sound, but not those."

"Ah, that was the final thing I learned. My aura reacted differently to natural stimuli because of my experiments with it, but I'd never tested how it would react to other people, or more specifically, their auras. I found out because Ívarr and I had a spar just before we started the trip back to Beacon. While I was attacking him, I started playing around with the effects I could produce with my arrows, since they were made of my aura, just like the bow. For example, remember the first thing I did with it when fighting against CRDL?"

"You mean the exploding arrow?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, that. By using miniscule amounts of Dust, I found I could alter the state of matter of my arrows. Once again, all the molecular studying I'd done had paid off, because I didn't have to use even half as much Dust as was normally needed to achieve results. When I channeled aura through Fire Dust, whatever arrow I used would be affected by it, and as soon as it struck, it would combust and create a circle of fire. However, I found that if I made the arrow vibrate rapidly just before striking the target, it would cause an explosion instead."

"Almost blew my head off with it, too," Ívarr muttered, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Jaune had no idea how much he could effectively use at first, so when he first tried it, he ended up creating a crater and leaving behind a barren clearing."

Noticing the looks of skepticism from most of those present, the man sighed and pulled out his scroll, bringing up a picture. He then placed his scroll on the headmaster's desk, whereupon a hologram popped up just above it.

RWBYNPR's jaws dropped as the picture came into view. On the picture was what appeared to be an acre of land, completely gone and with several spots that still had fires and embers left. In front of the barren area was standing Jaune, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"See what I mean? Jaune's aura is more potent than any other I've seen. Just by using a Fire Dust crystal the size of my palm to enhance one arrow, he was able to do _that_ ," Ívarr stated.

"So then... The explosive arrow you used against Cardin..." Weiss began.

"Yeah, that was a miniscule amount," Jaune finished, nodding at her. "I didn't want to level the Emerald Forest or kill CRDL, after all."

"Oh, what about the other one you used? The ones that put Cardin and I'm guessing Dove to sleep?" Yang asked.

"Ah, that was using Lightning Dust, though once again, a tiny amount. I had studied several neuroscience books when I began attempting to control my aura, and in a few of them, there were lots of explanations and diagrams on how synapses and neurons work. In them, I also discovered just which areas of the brain are responsible for sleep. Thus, by using my aura as a Trojan horse of sorts, I can microscopically direct Lightning Dust to those areas, activating them and rendering the person unconscious. How long it lasts depends on how much Dust I use, but like my explosive arrows, I have to be really careful on the amount." Both Jaune and Ívarr frowned deeply at that. "Using too much could be disastrous..."

"What... What happened?" Pyrrha asked warily.

Student and teacher looked at each other, with Jaune picking up the story. "Halfway here, we ran into a group of bandits. They wouldn't leave us alone, so we were forced to fight them." Jaune's expression became grim. "During the fight, I used a sleep arrow against one of them. I'd only tested it against animals up to that point, so I thought it'd work well, but..."

Sensing Jaune's discomfort with this, Ívarr bluntly finished. "Jaune overloaded the guy's brain, practically turning it to mush."

The office became stone-cold silent at the man's words. Despite that, Jaune continued. "That was my first experience taking a life, and... it wasn't pretty. Despite that, the other two wouldn't stop attacking me... and I was forced to do so again... and again..."

Noticing the clammy sweat that had begun to appear on his face, Pyrrha quickly acted, jumping to her feet and embracing the blond. Jaune started at the sudden hug, but eventually relaxed and welcomed it, breathing in Pyrrha's scent, which helped him relax.

"Thank you, Pyrrha," Jaune murmured. "I... I had to do it. It was their lives or mine... but it doesn't mean it was easy..."

Pyrrha merely held him, rubbing his back in the best comforting manner she could muster.

"By the third guy, though, Jaune got a handle on how much Dust he needed to just put the guy to sleep," Ívarr stated in a softer tone. "He got a good handle on it, and anything we encountered past that, we were able to leave peacefully."

"I made damn sure that I got a good handle on it before trying it again. Else, I'd never have used it against CRDL. I may not like him all that much, but I didn't save him back in Forever Fall only to accidentally kill him myself," Jaune mused.

"That's kind of dark," Ruby muttered.

"Let's leave that for later then, shall we?" Ozpin spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "While I'm glad that nothing happened, I must ask that you refrain from using your sleep arrows against your fellow students, Mister Arc. It does sound rather dangerous." After Jaune nodded in understanding, Ozpin continued. "Now, your examination against team CRDL and your explanations here have been more than enough to grant me the honor of welcoming you back to Beacon Academy. Congratulations, Mister Arc."

The students cheered at that, with Jaune just smiling fondly.

...


	24. Jaune Unleashed

**This is set in a hypothetical future of RWBY, past Volume 5 and perhaps even 6 and 7, depending on how they go.**

 **I think the name speaks for itself...**

* * *

 **In an undisclosed location...**

The sky was tinted blood red, the color matching the dress of the figure walking through the rocky plains. The raven-haired woman's stride was purposeful, her visible, golden eye shining just slightly from the energy within her.

As she approached the cliff she had been seeking, Cinder Fall reached within her dress, pulling out her black scroll. Walking towards a set of metal doors built into the cliff, she waved the object over the small, camouflaged reader just next to the doors. With a hiss, the doors slid open, allowing her to step into the darkness within.

Her eye glowed in the abyss for just a few moments before the lights flickered to life, illuminating the hallway she was currently standing in. Resuming her purposeful stride, she eventually reached another pair of doors, which opened up into an elevator.

Cinder controlled her breathing as she rode the elevator upwards, feeling the power within her involuntarily spike for just a moment. Despite her Mistress' training, it was still difficult to gain, and sometimes maintain, control.

As the elevator slowed to a halt, Cinder reopened her eyes and stepped into the room at the very top of the underground building, her eyes readjusting to the scant light. At the very center, a grate was built into the ground, allowing her to look into the small prison inside.

"Thirteen days in isolation..." Cinder spoke, her voice raspy despite the months she had taken to recuperate. "Impressive."

From within the darkness of the ground cell, a voice responded, "My aura gives me all I need."

"Your _aura_ , is it?"

The voice was quiet for a moment, then spoke up once more. "Yes, my _mistress_."

Cinder did not miss the strange inflection in his tone when saying that word.

"Come," she said, opening her scroll and pressing a button. With the sound of turning gears, the grate slid open, and the ground of the cell underneath slowly rose, bringing to light the servant within.

The person was a young man, looking to be about twenty one years of age. His blond hair was long and messy, with most of it gathered in a droopy ponytail that reached his upper back, and his eyes were a steely grey color. He was fairly muscled and stocky, with several scars marring his body, both a result of the training from hell he had undergone before the woman in front of him had deemed him worthy of unlocking his aura. He wore simple black pants and a sleeveless white shirt, over the latter of which he had a short-sleeved black jacket. Combat boots and a silver gauntlet on his left forearm, stretching from his hand to his elbow, completed his ensemble.

The only part Cinder was focused on, however, were the pair of handcuffs on his forearms.

"The Huntsman that trained Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose has been captured," Cinder spoke.

The young man's eyes narrowed, denoting a struggle within him. "... Qrow... Branwen?"

" _Yes_ ," Cinder responded, clearly pleased. "When your training is complete, you will travel to the Vacuan Wastelands... and execute him."

The young man turned away from her, his facial expression shifting every few moments as several thoughts passed through his mind's eye.

 _"We didn't force anything. We gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there... You heard her."_

The blond's eyes reopened as the words finished playing in his mind.

"You are still haunted by visions," Cinder stated, her eyes watching him carefully.

The blond took a moment to compose himself, then turned back to the woman. "... Yes, mistress. I... sometimes smell a city on fire... I see Qrow being hurt by a scorpion's tail, and I feel the ground shake as buildings crumble around me. I hear... a woman's voice when I try to sleep."

"They are the memories of a _dead man_ ," Cinder spoke up, her visible eye glowing as her gaze hardened. "A side effect of the cloning process, and memory flashes used to train you... They will fade."

A surge of anger rose from inside the blond. "And if they _don't_?"

Cinder's gaze remained squarely on his own as she responded. "Then you are of no use to me."

Movement from the walls drew the blond's attention, several shades appearing and walking over to their position.

"Jaune Arc's emotions made him _weak_ ," Cinder spoke up, drawing his attention back to her.

In her right hand was now a long, metallic sheath, its edges colored bronze and it's middle a gray stripe. Slowly, he reached out and grabbed the object, instinctively placing it against his left forearm, where it remained magnetically attached. His hand gripped the black-wrapped hilt sticking out of the sheath, pulling it out in one smooth movement. The moment the tip of the shining blade left the sheath, muscle memory pushed him to pull a trigger on the inside of the sheath, whereupon the edges sprang outwards, forming a rectangular, semi-cylindrical shield that the blonde had, at first, felt strangely unfamiliar with.

"You must _destroy_ what he _created_..." Cinder said, waving her hand at the incoming shadows, drawing the young man's attention towards them as they finally came into the light.

His eyes widened.

"... And you must learn to _hate_ what he _loved_."

Long, white hair tied into a ponytail... Icy blue eyes... A dress the color of the midnight sky...

A name fell, unbidden, from his lips.

"Weiss..."

It wasn't until he felt something impact against his shoulder that he was brought back to Remnant, now realizing there were four others alongside Weiss Schnee. They were simply soldiers, using standard armor that was emblazoned with the crest of Mistral.

His grip on his sword tightened, and with a focused mind, Jaune Arc jumped into the fray.

The first soldier fell easily, having barely reacted to his charge before Jaune was within sword reach. The blond landed just next to the soldier, swinging his sword back. It sliced cleanly through the neck of the soldier, but instead of blood, all that came from the neck stump were small sparks. Jaune didn't notice, already turning and bringing his shield up to block the volley of rifle fire coming from the second and third soldiers. He tensed his legs and jumped over the volley. Pulling the same trigger from earlier in the opposite direction collapsed his shield, and one more pull made the edges of the sheath jut down, forming a body similar to a broadsword with flat endpoints. The moment he landed between them, Jaune turned, swinging his sword at the one to his left while punching at the one to his right with his bladed shield.

His sword cleaved through the body of the left soldier with ease, the man letting out a garbled scream that was abruptly cut off as his body diagonally separated into two pieces. Jaune's bladed shield, meanwhile, dug right into the stomach of the right soldier, making the man drop his gun. Jaune used the leverage to lift the man up, then promptly slammed him into the ground, his bladed shield digging further into the man. With a single movement upwards, the man was split in two from the waist up, freeing Jaune's shield/second weapon.

The final soldier stood just in front of Weiss, already pointing his gun towards the blond. Jaune quickly reopened his shield, using it to block a volley of fire from the man. The blond slowly began walking up to the man, his steps firm and unfettered by the rifle rounds bouncing against his shield.

When he was just in front of the soldier, Jaune leaned down and swung the shield upwards, slamming the shield against the man. The blow sent the soldier into the air, forcefully impacting him against the ceiling of the room and causing one of the lights to break and the other to begin flickering.

Jaune's eyes now locked onto his final target: the white-haired woman staring at him with fear. The young man's sight flashed in time with the light above, and to his eyes, another image was superimposed over Weiss Schnee's.

An image of a girl with red hair, green eyes, and bronze armor.

"Pyrrha..."

Jaune shook his head roughly, forcing the thoughts out of his mind, and charged at the girl, his sword aiming for her neck.

"Wait! Don't!"

Against what his mind screamed, his body stopped the blade an inch from her neck at the girl's frantic and scared words.

"Weiss...?"

"Yes!" the girl responded, smiling happily at him.

Steps came from behind him.

"Strike her down!" Cinder commanded.

"I _can't_!"

"You _will_! You were created to _do my bidding_!"

Jaune cursed as he turned back to the once-again fearful Weiss. Those cyan eyes, staring at him with hope...

Once again, despite how his mind told him to obey for his sake... He couldn't.

With a grunt of defeat, the blond sheathed his sword and collapsed his shield. A heavy exhale came from his lips, and in his troubled thoughts, he did not notice Cinder stepping just around him to stand in front of Weiss.

His attention returned when he heard the unmistakable sound of flames. Looking up in horror, Jaune watched as Cinder's burst of fire consumed Weiss. He ran towards the girl, intending to help, but stopped when Cinder's flames disappeared and his eyes beheld a different sight.

Metal was all he saw.

It hadn't been real, and now that he looked around, he finally realized the soldiers from earlier were the same.

No blood, only sparks.

"Then... It is as I feared," Cinder stated, her raspy voice almost solemn.

"Why is this _happening_ to me...?" Jaune asked, desperation in his tone.

Cinder turned to him, though he did not look back, his eyes still focused on the smoldering robot. "Watts' accelerated cloning process is still... imperfect." _That_ drew his attention. "Those who came before you went mad within months. I believed you would be the first success... but it seems you are to suffer the same fate."

Jaune turned away from her, his eyes downcast. "What will you do with me?"

There was no response, but in that lull, a memory came to his mind, unbidden.

* * *

 _He stood in front of an altar-like place, looking down at his approaching friends. Exhaustion was clear in his posture, but his face betrayed only happiness._

 _There was a sound of rushing flames just behind him_

 _It seemed Cinder had not given up._

 _All he felt next was the agonizing pain of flames._

* * *

Jaune's eyes narrowed as a familiar sound of rushing air came from behind him.

Not again.

A defiant roar fell from his lips as Jaune reared his arm up and swung back, his shield deploying mid-swing. The shield slammed into Cinder, dissipating the ball of flame she had been creating as it sent her flying into the wall at the far side of the room.

Without preamble, Jaune ran towards the wall he knew led outside, drawing his sword. Once in front of it, two wide swings created an X-shaped target, whereupon Jaune shifted his shield into its other form and jumped forward.

With a powerful punch to the very center, the wall blasted outward, metal and rock flying into the air and allowing him a sight he had not seen for thirteen long days.

Freedom.

* * *

Cinder shook her head as she pulled herself from the wall, quickly regaining her composure. As she grabbed her head and stood, a powerful shockwave from ahead made her open her eyes.

"Tch..."

Slowly, the woman walked towards the edge of the room, stopping just in front of the large hole that had been blasted into the wall. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on the figure that was currently falling to the ground, who was being slowly covered by a white glow.

With another click of her tongue, the woman turned away and headed for the elevator, pulling out her scroll.

* * *

Jaune's body slowed as he fell, his Semblance activating as he focused on the power within him. His unique ability was something that had taken the blond by surprise the first time he unconsciously used it, but once Cinder had seen fit to give him life-threatening challenges to force him to improve, it had been quite the useful tool. Even as he fell, he could feel the energy being generated in his body from the constantly increasing speed he was acquiring due to gravity. At first, when he had used his Semblance in front of Cinder, she had believed him able to use some form of telekinesis, but she had been wrong.

Only Jaune knew the true capabilities and forms of his Semblance, and he had used the time alone to focus on perfecting it.

Raising his aura, he began to absorb the kinetic energy building up within his body, transforming it and storing it. As he did, his body slowed to far below terminal velocity, and he reopened his eyes to focus on his target: the ground below.

The Grimm that infested these lands had already noticed his escape, it seemed. He couldn't blame them; a blast of metal and rock like he had just caused would certainly draw attention. There were already a few Beowolves and Ursae gathered at the bottom of the cliff, looking up at him and waiting for him to fall into their clutches.

Jaune wouldn't give them the chance.

Gritting his teeth, Jaune drew upon the energy stored and readied his shield, transforming it into its bladed form. With a roar, Jaune performed a three-point landing by punching the ground, immediately blasting all of the energy he had gathered in his flight through the blades of his shield.

There was a split-second lull, then the ground around him erupted, sending every Grimm that surrounded him flying into the air as the shockwave shattered the area. The blond's eyes opened as disintegrating pieces of Grimm fell all around him, and knowing that his time was limited, he immediately stood and ran, going over the map of the place he had memorized in his time under Cinder and her lackeys.

* * *

"There!"

Just ahead, a personalized bullhead sat parked on a small crest, the hill seemingly made just for it. Grunting in exertion, Jaune rushed towards it, only to be forced into a slide as a claw passed through the space his head had occupied moments ago. Drawing his sword, Jaune faced the creature, an Alpha Beowolf. The upgraded, wolf-like creature roared as it ran towards him, intending to take his head as had it tried to do at first, but Jaune was prepared, angling his shield so that the claw would be deflected.

Sparks were raised as the creature's claw made contact with the scutum, sliding up into the air due to the momentum. This left the creature open, an opportunity Jaune used to dash into it and immediately slice through its neck.

As the head fell to the ground, Jaune turned back to the ship, sheathing his sword.

This was it.

This was what he had been hoping for… since the day he had first met that detestable woman.

The sound of faint growls caught his attention, making him turn his head to look over his shoulder.

There, yards away, was the very person he was thinking of. The false Maiden was walking towards him at a sedate pace, two lumbering Ursae at her side.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Jaune ran into the bullhead, immediately heading for the cockpit. Flashes of thoughts coursed through his mind, and through those, he quickly started the engine.

Within no more than a few seconds, the ship rose into the air and flew off, disappearing amongst the clouds.

* * *

Her single eye narrowed, Cinder watched as the blond took off. Faintly, she thought about attacking the ship in order to stop him, but the distance was too great to do any real damage. Instead, she forced her emotions down and watched as the test subject flew off.

Sighing, she turned away, plans already floating through her head. She looked back for a moment, thinking over one particular idea, then walked away.

She had an ally to find.

* * *

Jaune sighed as he passed the area where he knew no types of ships could enter, knowing he was far past the range of Cinder or her Mistress. He placed the ship in autopilot, knowing there was only one place he could begin his search, then leaned back on the seat and closed his eyes, calming his mind as best he could.

* * *

 _"We will gather the remaining kingdoms together, forming an alliance that will serve to crush Salem…"_

* * *

 _"There's not much I can do…"_

* * *

 _"You're so much stronger than you realize…"_

* * *

 _"I'll always be here for you, Jaune…"_

* * *

 _"I am pleased to grant you the title of Commander, Jaune Arc…"_

* * *

 _"Jaune…"_

* * *

 _"Jaune!"_

 _"Go! Hurry! I can't hold her back much longer!"_

 _"No! Jaune, don't do this!"_

 _"You have to get out of here! Now!"_

* * *

 _"You really think you can stand a chance against Cinder?"_

* * *

 _"I will make you **pay**!"_

* * *

 **In the Vacuan Wastelands, upon a hanging colosseum…**

* * *

A roar echoed from the center of the arena, causing the crowd to cheer.

The creature responsible, a Grimm in the shape of a large feline, bounded forward, its claws aiming for the throat of the man placed in front of it.

With a single grunt of exertion, Qrow Branwen twisted around its form, his sword slicing through the creature's neck and causing it to disappear.

A more humanistic roar came from behind the man, its origin being a man dressed in simple armor. The man brandished a club and ran towards Qrow, intending to bash the Huntsman's head in, but Qrow dodged at the last second, thrusting his blade back and spearing the man through the stomach. With naught but a choked cough, the man fell to the ground, unmoving.

Qrow looked at his latest challenger, then turned back to look above him, at the tallest of the four corners of the colosseum, where his captor resided.

"You're running out of executioners… Baron!" the man exclaimed, though his voice was somewhat weak.

The person in question was a man of middling age, with a balding head. What hair he had left was entirely white, contrasting with his pitch-black eyes, which showed mild frustration. He was dressed in a gaudy military outfit, which only served to denote his lack of physical conditioning.

With a sigh, he beckoned for the woman that was standing near the doors, giving her a simple message.

"Try… the Grimm panthers."

The woman nodded and walked away, exiting the room. At the same time, however, another woman walked inside, headed right for him.

"Lord Umbra," she spoke, bowing respectfully. When he waved at her, she approached and spoke to him in hushed tones.

The man's eyes narrowed as a frown creased his face, and with an irritated sigh, he stood and fixed his coat. Turning to the messenger, he said, "Assemble a squad at the landing pad. I'll meet her there."

The woman nodded, walking away.

* * *

 **At a cliff-side city's landing pad…**

* * *

A group of soldiers, bearing the crest of the kingdom of Vacuo, stood at attention as Baron Umbra approached, dusting off his coat. The man could already see the shape of Cinder Fall's personal bullhead approaching the city, known as Caída del Sol.

In but a few short moments, the small bullhead slowed and landed in the space provided, with the ramp opening up shortly after.

Umbra's eyes narrowed.

From inside the ship came not the woman he was expecting, but a blond young man with gray eyes. He had a stony expression as he exited the ship, his eyes immediately roaming the area and watching everything around him. Umbra's eyes roved over his uniform, noticing the grey and bronze sheath that was attached to the blond's left forearm.

"I… was expecting Lady Fall," Umbra spoke, one eyebrow raised.

"The Huntsman," the blond said, his tone making it more of a demand. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's alive… for the moment," Umbra responded, gathering his wits. The man placed his hands behind his back, where unbeknownst to the blond, the man was holding a Dust revolver carefully. "He's been in the arena for seven days now…"

There was silence for a moment.

" _From the darkness, we shall rise…_ " Umbra said carefully.

The blond did not respond, though his eyes flicked to the soldiers to either side of them.

" _From the darkness, we shall rise!_ " Umbra repeated, now drawing his revolver and aiming towards the blond. The soldiers around him followed his lead.

Instead of the fear Umbra was expecting, the blond lifted his left forearm, placing it just in front of him, fist up. His right hand grabbed the sword handle sticking out of the top of the sheath, just in front of his wrist. He drew the sword with a quick rasp of steel, and the moment the sword left the sheath, it expanded into a full shield.

"Kill him."

The command sent the men around Umbra into action, and immediately, the landing pad was filled with the sound of firing machine guns. The bullets, however, pinged uselessly against the scutum, and the blond wasted no time in jumping forward to begin the battle, cutting down the first soldier with ease. As exclamations of fear erupted around him, Umbra ran.

* * *

 **Some time later, after making his way through the city of Caída del Sol...**

* * *

"A city built right into the side of a mountain… and a hanging colosseum nearly a thousand miles above it, at the peak…" Jaune mused as he rode the large elevator that led to his target. "Humanity really is bold."

 **Ding**.

Jaune's eyes widened as the roar of a crowd assaulted his ears upon the elevator doors opening. Cautiously, the blond walked out of the elevator, now realizing there were thousands of people around him, all cheering in one way or another.

He wasn't here for them, however.

A small smirk played on his face as he noticed the windswept hair and broadsword of the man he was here to find. Qrow Branwen was standing at the middle of the arena, panting in exertion and seemingly waiting for his next target.

Jaune walked up to the man calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You can sit this one out, Qrow."

Qrow stiffened upon hearing his voice, turning slowly. "… Tell me being sober for so long hasn't made me hallucinate…"

"I think you'll be fine," Jaune chuckled.

"By the gods… I _knew_ you were alive!" Qrow exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.

The roar of a creature made them both turn.

"Yeah, well, let's see how long I stay that way," Jaune responded, walking over to stand in front of the Branwen.

At the opposite end of the arena, a metal door began to rise, giving way to the darkness inside.

Jaune deployed his shield, standing ready to take whatever was coming.

From the darkness lumbered… an Ursa Major.

Jaune chuckled, relaxing his stance. Was this the best Umbra had? He grabbed his sword, intending to end the Ursa's life in one fell swoop, but the appearance of something else stopped him.

As the Ursa Major trudged forward, the ground just behind it opened up. From within, a hand almost twice as large as the Ursa's entire body appeared, slamming down upon the creature and dragging it down to the depths, amidst its fearful cries.

Another, much deeper, roar made the colosseum vibrate as the same hand came out, followed by another. Together, the pair lifted the creature out of the ground. It's body was gigantic, and it's arms even more so in order to even be able to raise it out of the hole. It's head was bovine in nature, with two large horns sticking out of the head's sides. And on its nose, arms, and chest was the usual bone-white armor of the Grimm, its torso area covered by rib-like armor he'd only seen on Beringels.

"Oooookay..." Jaune muttered, drawing his sword and performing a few test swings. "This just got more interesting."

Sensing Qrow leave his side, Jaune prepared himself for the battle ahead.

" _Tell me you still use the same comm channel!_ "

Jaune winced at the sudden voice in his ear, but nodded, calling out, "I hear ya!"

" _Yeah, well, good timing! I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to last-!_ "

"No time, Qrow! _What_ the _hell_ is this thing?!"

Almost as if it had heard him, the creature roared and raised its fists, slamming them down and making the ground tremble.

" _I have no idea, but it's big!_ "

"That's _insightful_ , coming from a drunkard like you," Jaune snaked, "now **how do I kill it?!** "

" _I'm not sure you can! I'm going after Baron Umbra; he's too important to be let go. Just hang on until then!_ "

Jaune clicked his tongue in frustration and focused, watching the bull-like Grimm. The creature roared and swung it's arm down, forcing him to roll away lest he be crushed. The Grimm attempted to backhand him with the same arm, forcing Jaune to cover himself. The moment the hand made contact with his shield, however, Jaune absorbed the kinetic energy of the hand, immediately slowing it down to manageable levels. His sword came around, scoring a deep gash on the wrist of the creature and making it jerk back.

Storing away the energy he had absorbed, Jaune dashed forward, dodging two clumsy swipes from the Grimm. Jumping over a third flat swipe, Jaune stabbed his sword into the arm, letting it drag him into the air. As he reached the apex, Jaune reached into his being and drew forth the energy he'd gathered from the first strike. As he fell down onto the creature's shoulder, he drew back, transformed his shield, and struck.

The moment his blade dug into the Grimm's cheek, Jaune transferred the energy through the blades and into the Grimm.

There was a sound akin to an explosion, and the Grimm's head jerked to the side as it was struck with all the force it had put into its own backhand. Jaune jumped off as it tried to grab him, vaulting over the closing hand and using his scutum as a sliding board down the creature's body until he reached the ground.

A shadow suddenly covered him.

Jaune's eyes snapped up, realizing the Grimm's other hand was coming down like a hammer to crush him.

" _Jaune!_ "

 **BOOM**

The ground underneath the fist shattered as it landed on the Huntsman, but to the surprise of Qrow, the spectators, and even the Grimm itself, its fist had never actually reached the ground. Instead, Jaune had caught it with his hands, overworking his Semblance in order to absorb the kinetic energy of the blow before it could crush him. With the weight of the hand and the speed of the blow, he knew all that energy could have overheated his body. Thus, he'd immediately transferred some of the energy through his body and into the ground, causing it to shatter.

This, however, still left him with plenty of energy to use.

Grinning, Jaune pushed some of the acquired energy out of his hands, forcing the hand off of him and into the air. He immediately twisted and slashed the creature's fist, opening a long cut onto its pinky. Once again, the creature roared in displeasure, giving Jaune time to study it.

What he saw wasn't very comforting.

"Damn thing has no weak spots that I can see... Where the hell did Salem get it?"

Quickly rolling away from an incoming slam, Jaune attempted to slash at the wrist of the creature again, but it had learned from his previous attacks and immediately opened its hand, catching his arm in a vice grip. Jaune grunted as he felt his aura work to keep his arm from being crushed within. Having run out of options, Jaune drew on more of the energy he'd stored and raised his hand, gathering it into his free palm.

The funny thing about his Semblance that had convinced Cinder that it was Telekinesis was that Jaune was able to transfer the energy he absorbed through practically any medium he knew of.

That included air, and displaced air was one of the most dangerous elements to be seen.

Jaune yelled out as he pushed his hand forward, and with that movement, the air in front of him was displaced forward, slamming into the Grimm's face with the force of a megaton punch. The Grimm jerked back as it was struck, pulling Jaune into the air once again.

As Jaune turned in the air in order to get the Grimm in his sights, his eyes narrowed, focusing in order to find any possible weak spots. When the Grimm turned its head to stare at him hatefully, he finally had one answer.

"Its eyes..."

Grinning, Jaune straightened himself out as he fell back towards the Grimm, gathering what was left of the energy he'd absorbed into his right hand. The Grimm attempted to grab him out of the air, but he was able to twist just out of the way, placing glancing touches on its skin as he passed to absorb even more energy.

When he was close enough, Jaune drew back his sword and transferred the energy he'd gathered into it as heat energy, causing it to glow as it was filled. Using his momentum, he twisted and slashed the air, sending out the energy stored as a wave of what appeared to be pure energy, leaving behind arcs of electricity in the air as it passed. Jaune, however, knew just what it was. Having heated the air in front of him so rapidly, Jaune had created a wave of plasma that was extremely hot, and burn it did.

The wave of plasma slammed into the right side of the Grimm's face, melting it's mask, eye, and skin with its intense heat. The creature shrieked in agony, stunning Jaune momentarily. In that moment, it reached out blindly and grabbed the man by his leg, throwing him far from itself.

Attempting to right himself in the air was futile, and Jaune ended up slamming into one of the pillars and falling onto one of the glass panes that overlooked the stadium. Shaking his head, Jaune quickly took stock of the situation, realizing the Grimm was already making its way out of the hole and up the stadium's thankfully vacated seats. Vaguely noticing it had legs that ended in hooves, Jaune blinked as he realized it was climbing up the side of the colosseum, headed towards him.

" _We're not going to be able to restrain that thing!_ " Qrow's voice came from his communicator. " _We need to take it out of commission!_ "

"Oh, ha, ha, ha! **How?!** " Jaune asked, quickly jumping over one of the Grimm's roving hands as it tried to grab him.

" _Um, its a hanging stadium... See what you can do about those supports!_ "

Jaune looked up, noticing the supports Qrow was talking about. There were four in total, holding the colosseum up by the four cardinal directions. They certainly seemed sturdy...

"Whoa, whoa, wait! That'll bring the whole structure down!"

" _Got a better idea?_ "

"Not so much, no," Jaune admitted.

Running forward, the blond used another air push against the Grimm, getting its attention back to him and away from the Vacuan soldiers fruitlessly shooting at it. Jaune dodged the creature's first attempt at grabbing him, then quickly slashed its hand and kept running, headed for the closest support tower.

Jumping on the platforms that led up to it, Jaune was rewarded by the Grimm following his moves, grabbing onto the support tower and practically holding all its weight on it. The blond dashed forward, slashing at the hand with his sword hard enough to make the Grimm jerk in annoyance. He jumped back as he saw its hand clench, and a moment later, it pulled off the tower completely, throwing it to the ground carelessly.

Jaune used the moment to jump across the small gap that led to the support across, the jump becoming easier due to the southern support that had just been ripped off causing the tower to lean forward. He repeated the same tactic to get the Grimm to rip the second tower off, but knew that this wouldn't work a third time.

It was enough, however. Already, the stadium was beginning to groan and crumble, sections of the place falling apart. The blond attempted to make his way across to the next tower, but the ground shook as he landed on the it, sending him off balance. The tower began to collapse on its own, being unable to hold the weight of its half of the colosseum as well as the giant Grimm.

Spotting the lookout tower of the man that had greeted him at the landing pad, Jaune tensed his legs and jumped, flipping in midair and performing a three point landing inside. Turning, he locked eyes with Qrow for a moment, nodding as they both turned to the Baron and three of his soldiers.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Umbra screamed. "Kill them!"

The soldiers fumbled for their weapons, clumsily firing at the duo. Jaune easily blocked the bullets with his shield and absorbed their kinetic energy, while Qrow had no trouble deflecting them. Using the absorbed energy, Jaune channeled it through the space in front of him and displaced the air ahead, slamming the three men into and through the wall.

Now with nowhere to run and no backup, Umbra stared fearfully at the Huntsmen, his revolver shaking. Before either Qrow or Jaune could move, however, the tower shook roughly and tilted, sending the three of them to the ground. Jaune shook his head in order to clear it, vaguely processing the sound of Umbra screaming out in protest before he was suddenly silenced. Getting to his knees, the blond looked up just in time to see a large, black hand break into the tower, grabbing onto the first person it saw.

With the sound of shattering stone, the colosseum cracked by the middle, sending the large Grimm off balance and to the abyss with a struggling Qrow Branwen in its grasp.

"QROW!"

Without preamble, Jaune collapsed his shield and jumped. The wind whipped at his hair and clothes as he dodged the debris of the collapsing stadium, streamlining his form in order to speed up. His eyes narrowed and watered slightly as he accelerated, focusing on the creature tumbling through the open air.

He wouldn't have much time before they all met the ground.

" _Ugh... Help me, damnit!_ "

"Shut up, I'm working on it!" Jaune bellowed, having barely heard him over the screaming winds. "Can't you transform and get out yourself?!"

" _Grip's too tight... If I transform now, I'll get crushed immediately!_ "

Jaune cursed, speeding up as much as he could. He was only a few meters away from the creature when it spotted his approach, its remaining eye narrowing in distaste. It swung its free left hand in an arc, forcing Jaune to maneuver around it lest he be swatted like a fly, and as soon as he dodged, the blond pushed out, using the energy of his free-fall to air punch the Grimm's face with enough force to break one of its horns. The Grimm roared in pain and was sent tumbling, but it still wouldn't let go of Qrow.

Growling in annoyance, Jaune once again charged up and released a plasma slash. The Grimm covered itself with its right arm, shrieking in agony as the plasma wave left a large, bubbling gash on its forearm, and though it was difficult to see, its grip on Qrow loosened slightly.

With an idea blooming in his head, Jaune closed his eyes and focused. His body began to glow as he called forth his Semblance, drawing in all of the energy he could from his free-fall. His body began to slow down even as power pooled within him, and when he noticed the falling pieces of debris around him, he turned and twisted through the air towards them, absorbing their energy as well.

As the Grimm lowered its burning arm, its eye sought out the one who would do it harm. Instead, its focus was taken by a bright light that seemed to pulse with intensity some distance away before suddenly rocketing towards it with the force of a shooting star.

Once filled with so much energy that it exuded from his body, Jaune focused and coalesced the energy, surrounding himself with it. Transforming his shield to its bladed form, the blond reared back, tensed himself, and pushed the air behind him away.

Shooting off like a rocket, Jaune roared a challenge to the creature below just before he slammed into its body, the power within him and the aura around him allowing him to punch through its chest like a high caliber bullet. His head rang as the energy he'd gathered began to dissipate, leaving him with a mildly hollow sensation. The blond turned his head as he heard something approaching, which turned out to be Qrow, looking slightly worse for wear but not particularly worried.

"You don't have a way out of this, do you?" Qrow asked with a sardonic smile.

"I wasn't thinking _that_ far ahead!" Jaune responded.

Qrow suddenly pulled out a small device, much like a remote, and pressed a button on it. "Then let's hope she can reach us in time!"

Jaune could only wonder what the hell he was talking about for a few moments. The sound of roaring engines drew his attention, and when he turned, it was to witness a sleek Bullhead approaching their position, its side hatch already opening as it aligned with their fall. The pair of Huntsmen turned in midair, having hardly gotten their feet into the vehicle before its doors closed and it flew off into the sky.

* * *

"Weiss!" Jaune called out as he entered the cockpit of the Bullhead, only to be greeted with silence. The place was empty, with the blond barely being able to make out the words 'autopilot' on the information screen of the console. Turning back to the man that he'd just rescued, his stony expression was just as hard as his tone. "Where is she?"

Qrow sighed as he sat on one of the seats, somehow already having a bottle of whiskey in his hand that he'd swiped from who-knew-where, and responded with a calm, "I don't know."

"What?!"

"The Remnant Armada is scattered across a few cities and villages; I lost contact with Weiss and her fleet when I was captured."

There was silence for a moment before Qrow's eyes hardened. "Your Armada is on the run from the Grimm and the Black Fang's forces, and I lost a good many soldiers when I was captured... but now that you're back, we can really take the fight to Salem! A major strike is what we _really_ need in order to rally the troops-!"

"I'm not him."

The strong declaration from the blond cut off Qrow's oddly militaristic speech.

"Listen, I'm not blind. Hell, your aura is still the same as it was before!"

"You're not listening to me; I'm not Jaune Arc! I'm..." The blond sat on the pilot seat heavily. "... I'm a _clone_. I was raised in a vat to take his place-."

A chuckle from the man in front of him cut him off, drawing his incredulous attention. "Is that what _Salem_ told you?"

"Cinder, actually, but yes!"

"That's _impossible_!" Qrow responded good-naturedly. "No one can clone a human; it's never been done! And... I could see how powerful you are." Qrow's voice dropped an octave at that. "We could put that power to _use_ -."

"You have... _no idea_..." Jaune angrily cut him off, "of _who_ I am or _what_ I went through in Salem's lair...!"

"You were there?!" Qrow asked, almost hungrily. "If you could provide the Armada with the location of the place and its specifications, we could launch a full scale-!"

" **No**!" Jaune once again cut him off. "I just want-! Look, I need a place to think this through...! To meditate!"

"To _hide_?!" Qrow accused him.

"Until I find her!"

"We're at _war_ , and you want a quiet place to _think_?!" Qrow demanded. "The Armada _will_ be destroyed while you're wandering the forests of Mistral or the ruins of the village of Evangile!" Jaune's eyes narrowed as something stirred in his mind at those words. "You'd let humanity _die_ to go... _find_ yourself?"

Jaune's brows furrowed. "... What are you talking about?"

Qrow went silent, just looking into the young man's eyes as if searching for something. Finally, he sighed and said, "I don't know." His expression turned sour. "Forget about it; go wherever you want... You can take the ship, she's always been yours anyway. Just... Drop me off at the nearest village before you get lost in the skies... _boy_."

With that, Qrow walked out, taking a swig of his bottle. Sighing in exasperation, Jaune turned back to the console, mulling over the man's words. While he felt that Qrow was acting oddly, though he couldn't quite pinpoint why, he knew the man was never completely straightforward.

"... Evangile..."

Leaning forward, Jaune checked the map displayed to him and flipped a few switches, inputting the coordinates of the nearest village. Afterwards, he learned back on his seat, once again closing his eyes and letting his mind wander... to memories that were not his own.


	25. Aural Reinforcement: Battle for Beacon

**I thought to try and make small sequels of the single-shots I've written, and this was the first and easiest to think about.**

 **Also, I just wanna say... if you've watched RWBY V5's Chapter 3 (i think), I totally called the Oscar/Ozpin soul-in-control switch! (See ch. 16)**

* * *

"Ren! Nora! Go help out Sun and the others! I'll go see what's with Pyrrha!"

"Right!"

"Understood."

Having received their confirmations, Jaune dashed off after Pyrrha, who had inexplicably become focused on Ozpin the moment the man appeared on the stone steps that led to Beacon.

The blonde quickly caught up to the pair, only just catching the end of their conversation.

"-must hurry. We've run out of time _and_ options," Ozpin was saying to the redhead, who merely nodded meekly.

"Pyrrha! Professor Ozpin!" Jaune exclaimed, catching their attention. "What's going on? We need to go help out-!"

"Mister Arc!" Ozpin interrupted him. "I'm sorry, but I must borrow Pyrrha."

Jaune looked between the two, his eyes scrunched in confusion. The professor was a hard person to understand, and that was not helped by his insistence to take one of the school's best fighters.

"If you wish, you can come along with us," Ozpin sighed, "but we musn't dawdle."

Shaking his head, the Arc looked at the pair with a determined frown and nodded. Together, the trio ran into the school.

* * *

The sound of a bell signaled the arrival of the elevator at the lowest floor of the school, one that Jaune has no idea even existed.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Ozpin and Pyrrha ran out of it, with Jaune having to catch up. The blond looked around the area, noting the large pillars that led down a darkened path, lit only by strange, green lanterns.

"What is this place...?"

Jaune didn't expect an answer to his query, which only led him to be further confused by his partner's answer of, "It's... a type of vault."

"You've... been here before?"

The redhead didn't answer that one.

"I don't get it. What could this school need to-?"

He was unable to finish his question, as they had arrived at what he assumed was their destination.

A strange machine with human-sized pods on either side, one of which was already occupied.

"... hide?"

"Jaune..." The blond looked away from the machine at his partner's call. "I..."

"Pyrrha!" Ozpin exclaimed, drawing their attention. With a hiss of escaping air, the pod next to him opened up. "Get to the pod!"

Pyrrha looked back towards Jaune, then sighed sadly and went on her way.

"Mister Arc," Ozpin stated, giving him the most serious stare Jaune had ever seen. "If you wish to help, you may stand guard there."

Jaune's eyes narrowed as he nodded, turning and bearing his shield towards the way they'd come. He remained focused on the elevator that he could barely see, vaguely hearing Ozpin and Pyrrha have a short, muted conversation. His eyes remained on the doors even as the area around them shook, and they did not waver when the edges of his sight were filled with a warm, bright orange light.

However, when he heard his partner begin to scream in pain... That, he could not ignore.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed, turning and running to the pod, watching helplessly as the redhead writhed and screamed under the assault of whatever the machine was doing.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Ozpin whispered.

Amidst the screams, though, Jaune's ears picked up another, much quieter sound, one he was sure he'd have missed otherwise.

The soft clicks of heels on marble.

Immediately turning, Jaune's eyes locked onto a figure that had suddenly appeared a few meters away. In her hands, with an arrow already notched, was a black bow.

There was a very soft _twang_ as she released it.

Jaune's muscles pumped into action. Carefully measuring the amount of force he needed, the blond collapsed his shield and blasted off from his position, appearing just next to the arrow in the next split-second. His sword sang as it cut through the air towards the body of the arrow.

It was only a centimeter away from destroying the projectile when the arrow suddenly began to glow, and before his eyes, it broke into a multitude of pieces, which deftly avoided the blade of his sword. Before he could change course, the arrow reformed just ahead of him and continued towards its target, burying itself in the chest of the comatose woman in the second pod.

Alarms blared out immediately, but Jaune ignored them, quickly stopping his charge and turning towards the enemy in question. To his surprise, he recognized the face and hair of the person, though just barely.

It was one of the transfer students from Haven Academy, which Ruby had introduced them to after having bumped into the team during the festival.

"You!" Jaune exclaimed.

Before he could say any more or charge, a rush of wind came from behind him as a bright light shot past him and collided with the woman, being absorbed into her body. The woman bent over momentarily, then rose to her full height moments later, fire surrounding her body in a protective sphere.

With a growl, Jaune gripped his sword tightly and once again blasted forward, ignoring Ozpin's warning and swinging it at the woman's neck. Before it could connect, however, the woman's flame shield flared, and the blond was just barely able to get his shield in front of himself in time to prevent his immolation. The blast sent him flying back, forcing him to right himself in midair.

Before he could dash in again, Ozpin held his hand out in front of the blond, saying, "No! Take Pyrrha and get out of here! Find Qrow, Glynda, or James! Tell them to hurry back!"

Gritting his teeth, Jaune nodded, turning back to the pod in time to see his partner climb out of it. With a simultaneous nod, the pair ran towards the elevator, making sure to give the superpowered woman a wide berth.

The last thing they saw before the elevators closed were powerful flashes of red and green energies clashing.

* * *

"Okay, I think I have Glynda's number," Jaune muttered once outside, immediately pulling up his contact list. Even as he scrolled through it, though, his mind was elsewhere, leading him to stop searching altogether and turn to his partner carefully. "Pyrrha... What _was_ all of that?"

Pyrrha frowned meekly, her eyes turning downward. "I..."

A powerful tremor cut her off, sending them both off balance. The pair looked back towards the open doors, only to freeze as they witnessed a flash of orange light come from the elevator shaft, heading directly upwards.

"No... But... Ozpin..." Jaune muttered in a disbelieving tone.

"There's no time..." Pyrrha muttered sadly, before he countenance suddenly solidified as she turned to him. "Go! Get to Vale and call for help!"

"What?! What are _you_ going to do?!" Jaune exclaimed, looking at her. The look she gave Beacon Tower was all the answer he needed. "No... No, Pyrrha, you _can't_! You saw how powerful she is!" When the young woman didn't respond, he stepped closer. "Pyrrha, I won't let you-!"

The blond suddenly fell silent, courtesy of the soft lips that were suddenly pressed against his own. His mind blanked momentarily, but returned a second later, processing what the young woman was doing.

As the kiss between them broke, Pyrrha's eyes closed, and because of that, she missed Jaune's right hand closing into a fist and pulling back.

"I'm sorr-."

Pyrrha was the one that was now cut off, though in a much less romantic manner. Spittle flew from her mouth as she gasped in pain, her eyes wide open and her sternum bent against the fist that had buried itself into it.

The redhead's arms came around her stomach as she struggled for air, the girl feeling the edges of her eyesight blur. Her legs lost strength, making her fall to her knees, and she was barely able to turn her head towards the blond still standing next to her, who was looking at her with sorrowful eyes.

"No, Pyrrha... _I'm_ sorry."

"J-Jaune..."

With that whispered name, the redhead's struggle for air was lost, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Jaune's eyes remained trained on her for the moment, feeling a twinge of regret at his actions, before he got moving and picked the redhead up. Looking around, he spotted an empty rocket locker and marched over to it, placing Pyrrha inside in such a manner that she would be upright for the landing. Carefully looking her over, he then proceeded to take off his breast plate and his hoodie, wrapping the armor in the metal plate and placing it around Pyrrha's head and shoulders as a makeshift pillow.

Finally, he pulled out his scroll, stopping momentarily as he looked at his background picture. It was one that he had taken one day when they'd gone out to Vale, having been by the docks. Jaune was in the middle, holding the scroll, whilst Pyrrha was just behind him, laying her head on his left shoulder. Next to him was Ren, who was leaning on Jaune and wearing an easygoing smile. On Ren's right shoulder was Nora, who was happily grabbing onto the quiet boy's arm and grinning at the camera.

Jaune blinked some moisture out of his eyes, cementing his decision. With a nod to himself, he pulled up the sound recording app on his scroll and pressed 'Record'.

* * *

There were very few things Cinder Fall didn't expect. She prided herself as a woman that manipulated others, someone who was very versatile in achieving her goals. For that reason, there was little that could catch her off guard.

The sight of the blond young man from earlier slashing down the door of the elevator and silently challenging her was one of those things, mostly because she couldn't exactly fathom how he got up the shaft to begin with.

"Well, well, well... Look who decided to come and face me," the woman said in her usual seductive tone. "Are you truly so keen to die?"

Jaune did not answer. He merely gripped his sword tightly, falling into a practiced stance.

"A man of few words? Truly, it's a shame you must die. I'm sure I could have come to like you."

"Not in your wildest dreams, you witch," Jaune growled, dashing towards her.

Cinder blasted a stream of fire at him, which he blocked with his shield. Pushing his legs as best he could, he ran through the stream of flames, jumping out at the last moment and twisting in order to strike the woman with a backhand slash.

To his surprise, his blade was stopped cold by Cinder's hand, who then proceeded to grip it tightly and place her free one against his chest. With a burst of flame, she sent him flying into the wall next to the elevator, his sword still in her grasp.

Jaune recovered quickly, glaring at the woman whilst gripping his shield's straps tightly. He watched as she tossed his sword to the side and produced two sharp flames in each of her hands, using them as propulsion to blast herself at him. He tensed, waiting for the right moment, and when she was no more than a meter away, he twisted in place, dodging her charge by a hair's breadth. Jaune quickly swung his shield around, using its sharp end as a makeshift blade and slamming it into her back, making her crash to the ground. The moment she bounced upwards, he pulled back and swung it in a low arc, slamming it into her side and sending her flying into a wall. Without preamble, he dashed for and picked up his sword, leveling it at the woman that was now standing up.

"Well, this is interesting," Cinder said, giving him an appraising look. "You're much more competent than I had expected."

Jaune allowed himself to smirk slightly. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

Both combatants dashed towards each other, meeting in the center of the office in a clash of shield and flaming hands. From there, they fell into a rhythm of attacking and dodging, with Cinder deftly avoiding his strikes and retaliating with narrow blasts of flame, whilst Jaune rolled twisted around most attacks and blocked the streams of flame he couldn't dodge with his shield.

As Cinder attempted to barbecue him for the sixth time in their clash, Jaune ducked and swung his shield arm in an uppercut, using the shield as a bludgeon against the woman's chin. As the false Maiden's head snapped up, he brought his sword arm around and slashed at her sternum, sending her stumbling back. Collapsing his shield, Jaune jumped forward, using both hands in an attempt at a powerful vertical slash.

Cinder, however, recovered faster than he expected. The woman's hands came around, slapping against the flat sides of Crocea Mors and stopping its charge cold. Jaune grit his teeth and pushed, attempting to overpower the woman, but Cinder's newfound power gave her strength, leaving them at a stalemate.

Cinder smirked as her hands suddenly began to glow, the orange light soon transferring to the blade she was holding onto. A roar from outside drew their attention to the Grimm Dragon, which had been watching the battle inside the office. It had detached from the tower and flown off, only to come back around in an attempt to ram into the tower.

The moment before it hit, Cinder's grip on Crocea Mors tightened, and with a twist of her hands, she snapped the blade in two, sending Jaune off balance. Before he could recover, she lifted her leg and slammed it against Jaune's stomach, sending the young man flying just as the Dragon slammed into the tower, destroying the roof and windows around them.

Jaune coughed as he slammed into the wall, falling to one knee. He shook his head in order to come back to his senses, then looked down in shock at the broken remain of his sword still in his hand.

"Left with no weapon to fight with," Cinder spoke coyly. "It seems this is the end for you. It was certainly fun, I'll admit. You've helped me become more acquainted with my new power. You should be proud."

The false Maiden watched with mirth as Jaune remained silent, his shoulders shaking slightly. To her surprise, the next sound to come from him wasn't a declaration to fight her until the end, or a pathetic plea for his life.

It was laughter.

Jaune chuckled as he stood up, dropping his sword to the ground and reaching for his shield straps.

"Do you find death amusing?" Cinder asked, one delicate eyebrow raised in confusion.

Jaune simply continued to chuckle as he took off the straps of his shield, dropping it to the side. Finally, the chuckles abated as he tightened his gloves.

"Who said the battle was over?" Jaune taunted.

The blond fell into a martial arts stance, with his legs bent, his right hand held in a fist by his waist, and his left arm held in front of him, open hand up. With a grunt of exertion, the blond's aura erupted, surrounding him in a flowing glow.

"Ah, yes. I'd heard rumors of your aural power up," Cinder mused. "Please, as if that will be enough to-!"

The woman's speech was cut off suddenly, courtesy of the fist that was now buried in her gut.

* * *

"There's a ship ready to get you guys to Vale."

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing!" Nora exclaimed, holding her leg carefully.

At the Beacon Bullhead dock, the situation was just barely contained. Team RWBY were together, but all with their own pains. Yang was unconscious and missing her right arm from the elbow down, Blake was almost hysterical and gripping her sternum, Weiss was in slight shock at the situation, and Ruby had just arrived.

Ren and Nora, injured from the fighting in Beacon, were left helpless.

"Guys!" Sun insisted. "That giant Grimm keeps circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!"

"We're not... leaving... Ugh!" Ren attempted to stand, but a wound on his side protested sharply.

Then, before anyone else could raise an argument, there was a **boom** nearby as something crashed into the ground a few meters away from the dock. Together, the eyes of those who were awake turned to the source, which turned out to be a rocket locker that had buried itself headfirst into the path that led to the airstrip.

The door to it vibrated momentarily before it was ripped off its hinges and sent flying, and from it emerged a haggard Pyrrha. The girl was breathing heavily, and one of her arms was wrapped around her stomach. The other's hand held a scroll.

Around her shoulders was a familiar black-and-orange hoodie.

"Pyrrha!" everyone exclaimed, with Weiss rushing over to help the girl up.

The redhead looked up, accepting the proffered hand and letting Weiss help her over to the airstrip, where the girl once again collapsed to her knees, her breathing coming out labored.

"Pyrrha, what happened to you?! Where's Jaune?!" Nora asked.

The champion's eyes widened at the questions, her irises moving over to the scroll in her hand. Knowing she was unable to even breathe properly yet, the desperate young woman brought up the scroll, showing everyone there the open audio file on it, then pressed 'Play'.

 _"_ _Pyrrha, if you're hearing this, then you've awakened,"_ Jaune's voice came from the speaker, startling those listening. _"First of all, I want to say I'm sorry. I noticed what you were planning to do. Your kiss was distracting, no doubt about it, but when you did it, I knew… and I couldn't let you go. Not like this. If you're with our friends, please, let them know that I chose to do this. I doubt I'll come back from this, but I promise, I'll give it my all. And lastly, Pyrrha… Please, stay safe."_

With that, the scroll fell silent, much like the rest of the students.

"Pyrrha… where is he?" Sun spoke up, his tone devoid of emotion.

Looking up, the redhead raised her free hand and pointed up, towards the highest point of Beacon. "He went… to fight… that woman… the one responsible… for all of this… But she's too strong… he won't… he won't make it…!"

Sun growled, looking up at the tower. "That idiot!"

With those words, the monkey Faunus ran off, moving as fast as he could to Beacon.

"Sun, wait!" Weiss exclaimed, holding a hand out, but it was too late. "Damn it!"

"I'll go," a voice spoke out, drawing all attention to the cape-wearing leader of RWBY. "I'll find Jaune, and I'll bring him back!"

There was silence for a moment, then another voice spoke up. "No. _We_ will get him back," Weiss said resolutely. Looking back at the group, the white-haired girl said, "Watch after Blake and Yang for us. We'll be back."

With those words, the duo dashed away, following the same path Sun had.

* * *

In what used to be Ozpin's office, there was a sound of breaking rubble as a body crashed into the wall of the office with extreme force, breaking through it entirely. The figure flipped in mid-air and growled at the offending person before creating a pair of fireballs in her hands, throwing them at her opponent in a pincer-like attack even as she flew towards him.

The blond young man in the middle of the office tensed, watching the triple attack that came towards him. With nothing but a minor grunt, he brought his hands up, coated them in his aura, and caught the pair of fireballs that were aimed at him from the sides. As Cinder approached from the front, the blond's hands tightened as he forced the fireballs together in front of him, slamming them into Cinder in a move that caused them to explode, sending the pair of fighters in opposite directions.

Cinder coughed as her back slammed into an intact wall, thankfully not breaking through it. She looked up at the smoke that had resulted from her hijacked attack just in time to dodge the punch that Jaune had thrown at her as he emerged from the smoke cloud, which landed on the wall behind her and blasted a large hole in it, which was accompanied by a resounding **boom** , and which she feared would have actually _hurt_.

"Damn you," she muttered as she recovered a few meters away. "How?! How are you this strong?!"

Jaune looked over to her calmly, though his clenched fists told another story. "Lots of aura channeling, that's all."

With that, they fell once again into battle, the blond using every ounce of effort he had in order to hit her. He threw a right hook that Cinder ducked under, with the False Maiden throwing out a leg that swept his feet from under him. The blond quickly recovered, placing one hand on the ground and this time throwing an airborne roundhouse kick that slammed into Cinder's jaw and snapped her head to the side. Using his momentum, Jaune twisted like a break-dancer and shot out a straight kick into Cinder's stomach, which made her bend over. The woman's hands landed on his outstretched leg, and when she straightened, she used her leverage point to lift him up and slam him to the ground behind her. Whilst there, she attempted to incinerate him, but Jaune's free leg kicked out, sending her blast of fire into the air as his foot impacted against her wrist. The blond then dropped that foot, landing an axe kick against the arm that was holding onto his leg, which forced Cinder to let go. As he flipped to a standing position, he moved forward in a split-second and landed another powerful punch against her sternum, winding her, then quickly shot out a one-two combo against her face, and finally twisted and sent her flying with a reverse hook kick.

Cinder hissed in pain, her body screaming in protest as she felt each of the attacks that the blond was landing. She looked up with half-lidded eyes, refusing to believe what was happening.

"This is impossible!" she exclaimed. "I am a Maiden! I should be beating you easily! How?! How can you hurt me like this?!"

"You don't have much of an idea how aura works, do you, lady?" Jaune asked, his breathing slightly labored. He had grown much stronger, but the aural channeling he had been doing since the battle began was beginning to take a toll on him.

"That's it! I've had enough of you!" Cinder yelled, a sphere of flames surrounding her. "I will make sure nothing remains of your mangled corpse!"

Jaune winced and stepped back as a powerful blast of air emanated from the woman. When he looked back, he was startled to notice the large fireball in the middle of her hands, which was only growing larger and which he was sure, with the limited space he had, he would have a difficult time dodging.

"Well… I guess this is it, then," Jaune muttered, raising one of his hands to waist level and clenching it into a fist. The blond grunted in exertion as he called out his aura, which surrounded him in a flowing white glow. Closing his eyes, he figured he had about a quarter of aura left, and while it was less than he had hoped, he knew that it would be enough. "It's time for me to pull out all the stops as well."

"You will not escape! You will not survive! I will make sure of that, and you will regret ever challenging me, boy!"

Jaune looked up at the now slightly-deranged woman, a small smirk on his face. "You're wrong. I will make sure you don't hurt anyone else ever again!"

Cinder's eyes widened as Jaune's aura flared, his form disappearing in the glowing white light emanating from him. She could feel the temperature in the office begin to rise at twice the rate it had before, which set her on edge.

 _'_ _Pyrrha… Nora… Ren… Ruby… Weiss… Blake… Yang… Sun… Mom… Dad…_ _Blanc, Noire, Vert, Violet, Rouge, Bleu, Rose…_ _I do this for you all. Please... forgive me.'_

"Die!"

"Haaaaaaah!"

Cinder's eyes widened in shock as the blond's aura flared further and exploded outward, her fire blast being consumed by the energy emanating from Jaune. She crossed her arms in front of herself, willing her aura to rise to her aid, but unlike Jaune, she had not been paying attention to the amount of aura she still had, letting the flowing powers of the Fall Maiden rise to her head. Her aura flared red for a moment before it suddenly shattered, and with its breaking came a feeling she was intimately familiar with delivering but had almost never received.

The feeling of burning.

Cinder screamed as the energy emanating from Jaune scorched her, trying her hardest to cover herself in any way. Above her own screams, she was vaguely aware of her opponent also screaming out, his roaring coming out as if by force, and with that, her mind understood, remembering the words of her Mistress long ago.

 _'_ _This is one of the few last-ditch abilities aural users have, Cinder. Most Huntsmen refer to it as an 'Aura Bomb'. In a last ditch attempt at an attack, the Huntsman can expel his or her aura in an explosion. The size and power will heavily depend on how much aura the person has, so you must be very careful with competent enemies. Never believe that your opponent is finished until you see it with your own eyes.'_

"Curse… you…" Cinder grit out through clenched teeth. "Curse you! **Curse you, Jaune Arc!** "

* * *

"That thick-skulled bastard!" Sun exclaimed through gritted teeth as he ran as fast as he could towards Beacon, brutally taking care of any Grimm that blocked his way. "I swear, I'm going to shove Ryuji up his-!"

"Sun!" A voice exclaimed his name behind him, but he paid it no heed. "Slow down!"

The sun-kissed Faunus ignored the voice, his sight focused on the tower he was running towards. He had barely been able to see the effects of the clash between Jaune and the woman responsible for this attack, mostly by the air pressure waves he could see and recognized as the signature areal effect of Jaune's aural channeling abilities, not to mention the further destruction of what was left of Ozpin's office.

"Finally," the blonde heard a voice at his side. His eyes flicked down to his right, where he could see Ruby running astride him with a determined frown on her face. His eyes shot to his left, where Weiss was also running alongside him, though she required the use of her glyphs to keep up with their strides. "Would it have killed you to wait for us?"

"Not me, but Jaune," Sun spoke shortly, his even tone denoting to the girls how seriously he was taking this.

As the trio ran into the courtyard of Beacon, they stopped upon realizing just how many Grimm had gathered at the base of the tower, all of which were now focusing on the newcomers. Without preamble, Sun withdrew his nunchaku-shotgun-staff, gripping it tightly as Weiss and Ruby brought out their own weapons.

Before either party could move, however, they all felt a tremor around them that left them unbalanced. Looking up, Sun's eyes widened as he noticed the glare of light that was coming from above them, and though his mind refused to believe it, his body and instincts reacted immediately.

" **Move!** " Sun exclaimed, turning and grabbing a hold of Ruby and Weiss' arms. Before they could even react, he jumped, taking them with him behind a fairly large pillar that had fallen from the tower.

"Sun, what-?!"

Weiss' question was unceremoniously cut off by a resonating **boom** from above them, and the next moment, their world shattered as a massive explosion came from above them, nearly sending them flying. The trio pressed themselves against the large pillar, holding their heads down as best they could as they heard Beowulves and Creeps roar and run off.

The explosion lasted no more than a few seconds, but to the trio, those seconds felt like hours. The light slowly began to disperse, and with it, they were able to slowly regain their senses. Sun was the first one up, his panicked eyes denoting his realization of the situation. Ruby and Weiss, though somewhat slower due to the shock of the explosion, followed his line of sight as they also got up.

The entire upper area of Beacon Tower had been destroyed, leaving only jagged pillars where before there had been a proudly-standing spire. In the center of the sphere of destruction that had dispersed, almost hanging in midair, was the figure of a person. As the rest of the light dissipated from around him, gravity took over and the figure began to fall, slamming into pillar after pillar and wall after broken wall on his way down before plowing into the ground inside of Beacon Tower and causing an eruption of dirt and debris.

"Jaune!" Sun exclaimed, immediately jumping over the pillar they had been hiding behind and running towards the tower, with Ruby and Weiss hot on his heels.

The Faunus kicked open the already broken doors to the tower, coming up to the sight of his fellow blond lying in a crater inside. In an instant, he ran to kneel next to Jaune, with Weiss and Ruby coming in hot behind him.

"Jaune... no..." Sun muttered, grabbing a hold of Jaune's hand. "Why...? You idiot..."

"Jaune?" Ruby whispered, her voice frail at the sight of the broken young man in front of her. She knelt at his side, her mind struggling to process the sight of the burns on his body, the lacerations and bruises on his torso, and the paleness of his skin. "No... No, Jaune... get up... please..."

Weiss said nothing, her mind whirling as she stood at the edge of the crater, watching two team leaders despairing over another.

The, breaking the silence like a bullet through glass, there came a raspy laugh.

Together, three pairs of eyes shot up to Jaune's face. Jaune's eyes were slightly ajar, his irises faded but still managing to look at them all, and his mouth was open, letting out a dry chuckle.

"I think... this is it..." Jaune whispered, his raspy voice carrying to them all in their shocked silence. "I'm sorry... Ruby... I guess we won't... become... the greatest team leaders... after all... you'll have to... carry on..."

"No..." Ruby said, her voice wavering as tears filled her eyes. "I can't... I can't do it alone, Jaune! You can't leave us like this!"

Jaune's blank eyes slid over to Sun. "Sun... thank you... I was able to... kill her... thanks to you..."

"Thank me by surviving, you idiot!" Sun said, gripping Jaune's hand tighter. "Don't turn this into a sacrifice; you have to live!"

Blue eyes slowly traveled to land on the final member there. "Weiss..."

Weiss didn't respond, but her wide eyes pooled with tears at the sight of Jaune's struggle to talk to her.

"Take care of yourself… and of them… They'll need you…"

With those words, the blond's eyes slid towards the night sky, a wan smile appearing on his face. He exhaled one more time, and with that, his chest stilled.

Silence fell on the area, with even the breathing of the remaining three Huntsmen and Huntresses being muted by the silent passing of the blond.

It was broken by the low voice of the red reaper.

"Jaune…"

Sun and Weiss' eyes, both already pooled with tears, slid to Ruby's form.

"No…"

A trio of tears fell from her eyes and onto Jaune's arm, and with them came small particles of light.

"What the…?" Sun whispered.

"No…!"

Ruby's grip tightened on Jaune's right hand.

The particles of light solidified, forming small wings coming from her eyes.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"No!"

Ruby screamed.

Weiss and Sun both exclaimed in shock as the area around them was bathed in an explosion of bright light.

* * *

"Oh damn… what happened?"

Sun groaned as he sat up blinking to get his eyes used to the darkness now that the bright light had receded. Looking around, he immediately became aware of the second unmoving body in the destroyed room.

"Ruby!" he exclaimed, dashing over to her. He held his right hand up to her face as his left one went for her neck, sighing in relief when he felt her exhaling against his hand as well as her pulse against his fingers.

"Ugh… Wha- Ruby!" Weiss, now awoken as well, immediately forced herself over to their position.

"She's alive," Sun assured her. "I don't know what the hell that was, but it seems to have just knocked her out. That… that wasn't her Semblance."

It wasn't a question.

"No," Weiss sighed. "It certainly wasn't, but I have no idea what it was."

Sun sighed. "Can you carry her? I'll take Jaune…"

Noticing the mood drop on Sun's face at the mention of the human blond's name, as well as the feeling of her own heart plummeting upon remembering his death, Weiss merely nodded and reached down to grab Ruby.

Before she could, however, Sun's voice caught her attention again.

"What…?"

She looked up, realizing that Sun was kneeling over Jaune and staring down at him, his eyes wide. Weiss' eyes trailed down, focusing on Jaune's body.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, her eyes widened as she realized his chest was moving.

Up… down… up… down…

He was breathing…

He was alive!

"He's… I'm not imagining this, am I?" Sun asked, his eyes snapping towards Weiss', who shook her head.

"No, I see it too, but… he was…"

Sun's eyes hardened. "No time for questions; we can figure that out later. "Let's get these two back to the evacuation point!"

Weiss nodded resolutely, grabbing a hold of Ruby's arms and lifting the redhead onto her back. As she watched Sun carefully put Jaune over his shoulder, however, she realized they may have a problem.

"Wait," she said, catching Sun's attention. "Neither of us can fight like this, and the Grimm must have congregated around this area once again. How will we make it back?"

"Leave that to me," a voice said from the entrance, drawing their eyes.

Standing at the same doors they had used to enter was a familiar, grizzled man with a broadsword on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Sun spoke, his voice full of skepticism.

"Ruby's uncle," Weiss was the one to respond. "Qrow, right?"

"That's right," Qrow nodded, stepping towards them. "Is she alright?"

"She's alive," Weiss assured him, "but we're not sure if she has any anomalies or ailments."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "If what just happened is what I think it is, I don't think so. She just needs to rest."

The heiress and Faunus nodded, making sure to hold on tightly to each of their charges. With Qrow leading the pack, they made their way out of the building, weapons (and Semblances in Weiss' case) at the ready.

…


End file.
